tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59080170752622431612024-02-25T01:46:38.950-05:00The Mod Podge BookshelfGabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.comBlogger942125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-14864421907399570632017-03-01T10:15:00.001-05:002017-03-01T10:15:30.765-05:00Blog Tour: 10 Things I Can See From Here<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><b>A Poignant YA Novel that Addresses Anxiety with Humor and Grace</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><b>by Carrie Mac</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Wingdings; line-height: normal;">★</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> “With Maeve, Mac delivers a character who’s </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 54, 52); color: #943634;"><b>heartwarmingly real and sympathetic</b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red;"><b>,</b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> and her story provides a </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 54, 52); color: #943634;"><b>much-needed mirror for anxious queer girls everywhere</b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">.”—<i>Kirkus,</i> Starred review<br />
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“This is a </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 54, 52); color: #943634;"><b>good companion</b> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">book for other anxiety-riddled stories, such as <i>The Shattering</i> by Karen Healey and <i>Finding Audrey</i> by Sophie Kinsella.”—<i>Booklist<br />
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</i>“Mac is </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 54, 52); color: #943634;"><b>good at showing</b> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">how a dread-filled mind works. . . . [An] </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 54, 52); color: #943634;"><b>affecting story</b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red;"><b>.</b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">”—<i>Publishers Weekly</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Self-deprecating, nuanced, and real, <b>10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE </b>(Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers | On sale February 28, 2017 | Ages 14 and up | $17.99) by award-winning author <b>Carrie Mac </b>explores the complexities of mental illness with wit, honesty, and sincerity. At once profound and delightfully humorous, this coming-of-age novel deftly explores anxiety and falling in love for the first time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;">Think positive. Don’t worry, be happy. Keep calm and carry on. Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it were something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. When Maeve is sent to Vancouver to live with her dad, her very pregnant stepmom, and her twin six-year-old half brothers, she struggles to rise to the challenge. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;">Vancouver brings a wide array of new worries, but Maeve finds brief respite—as well as even more worries—in Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Though the summer includes catastrophes than even Maeve could never have foreseen, she is able to reach inside herself to find the courage to be there for the ones she loves.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">With an exciting love story and a raw, emotional core, 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">is a poignant and uplifting novel perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Sophie Kinsella.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>CARRIE MAC </b>is an award-winning Canadian novelist making her US debut. She lives in East Vancouver, where this story takes place. Check out her website at <a href="http://carriemac.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 255); color: blue; line-height: normal;">Carriemac.com</span></a> and follow her on Twitter at @CarrieMacWrites. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">by Carrie Mac</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An Alfred A Knopf Books for Young Readers hardcover</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hardcover: 978-0-399-55625-8 | On sale February 28, 2017 | $17.99 | $23.99 Can. | 320 pages | Ages 14 and up</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Top 10 Books That Inspire Me by Carrie Mac</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAutsvdCi18jVs97yPGZR-3EqKwk7qfLdfrWaXDoRdsUmmifaLzbrgC_63n22kPSjqxNUX5Qj1raHoJZsqmVebM72ytRNvn4cIle4IFdbDVboPQEatL5egzuppqBOw3SZ2VE4d2qaj8g/s1600/Carrie+Mac+credit+Apple+Star+Photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAutsvdCi18jVs97yPGZR-3EqKwk7qfLdfrWaXDoRdsUmmifaLzbrgC_63n22kPSjqxNUX5Qj1raHoJZsqmVebM72ytRNvn4cIle4IFdbDVboPQEatL5egzuppqBOw3SZ2VE4d2qaj8g/s400/Carrie+Mac+credit+Apple+Star+Photo.jpeg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have been staring at this question for weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: black;">Weeks. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Whenever I get asked what my favorite book is, or even my top five- or ten favorite books are, or my favorite book in a particular genre, or my favorite book this week, I feel like I’m being asked to choose which kittens to save from a house on fire. And I can’t save them all. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So I will choose ten, and I will fail. I’ll choose ten, and behind every title, let’s say that there is a souped-up bookmobile following it around, with all the books I didn’t choose. I love these ten books, but I love a million more. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I’m not even kidding. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A million more.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>From The Notebooks of Melanin Sun</b> – Jacqueline Woodson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bastard Out of Carolina</b> – Dorothy Allison</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>This one Summer</b> – Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Golden Compass</b> – Philip Pullman</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Lives of Girls & Women</b> – Alice Munro</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Walk Two Moons</b> – Sharon Creech</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Persepolis</b> – Marjane Satrapi</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hiroshima No Pika</b> – Maruki Toshi</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Harriet the Spy</b> – Louise Fitzhugh</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>A Thousand Splendid Suns</b> – Khaled Hosseini</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was going to write a note about each one, stating why I chose it for the list. But when I look at the titles, I realize that they inspire me for all the same reasons. <b>They are evocative of place, time, atmosphere, and most importantly of all, character.</b> The characters from these books are still with me today, as fully realized people who truly lived the story, which is a testament to what each of these writers and artists created—books that became part of who I am, as a writer and a reader and a person on the planet. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have one set of bookshelves in the tiny home I share with my family. I don’t keep many books, which many people find odd for a writer. I read books. I write books. I love books. But I don’t keep many of them, and so it’s very hard to decide what stays and what goes. But those books on the list always stay. Always.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, this is my armful of sooty kittens for today. Each one of them is absolutely precious. Please check out the bookmobile on your way home and take a book or two. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And a kitten. </span></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-14384790743449532432016-10-04T00:00:00.000-04:002016-10-04T00:00:19.513-04:00Blog Tour: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, Interview with Megan Shepherd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Fans young and old of <i>The Secret Garden</i> will devour critically acclaimed author Megan Shepherd’s poignant new novel, <b>THE SECRET HORSES OF BRIAR HILL</b> (Delacorte Press | On sale October 11, 2016 | Ages 10 and up). Brimming with magical realism, this is a superbly written tale of hope even in the darkest of times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">When Emmaline arrives at the tuberculosis hospital during World War II, she discovers a secret: there are winged horses living in the mirrors. One day, she enters the abandoned garden to find that a real winged horse from the mirrors has entered her world and needs her help. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Emmaline begins to receive letters from the Horse Lord, asking her to protect the white winged horse named Foxfire from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by moonlight but is blinded by bright colors. As Emmaline searches for colorful objects, her friend Anna becomes increasingly ill, and Emmaline begins to remember for the first time what happened to her family. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Through war and illness, darkness and danger, Megan Shepherd brings strength, light, and hope to this incredibly well-crafted emotional tale.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>MEGAN SHEPHERD </b>grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of several acclaimed young adult books. Shepherd lives and writes on a 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband. You can visit her at meganshepherd.com<b> </b>and follow her on Twitter at @megan_shepherd.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">GC: <i>First things first. Megan Shepherd, when you were young, did you have an affinity for all things equine? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">MS: I was a typical horse girl. I didn’t have a horse or take many riding lessons, but I was obsessed with them. Like my main character, Emmaline, I loved to draw them. They seemed strong, intelligent, and somehow honorable (can a horse be honorable? I think it can), which I think is why many girls are drawn to them. Little girls often feel like the most powerless, overlooked creatures in the world—except when they’re on the back of a horse. Then they’re invincible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">GC: <i>Unlike the main character of The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, who is growing up in a hospital, you grew up in a library. Has your childhood affected how you write for a younger audience?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">MS: Memories of my childhood are filled with books. My parents ran an independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains for forty years, and as a girl I would hide behind shelves and get lost in magical literary worlds. My childhood was a very happy one, unlike that of many of the young characters in The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, who are dealing with illness and war. Maybe having had a secure young life gave me the confidence to turn around and take a hard look at childhood from a different angle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">GC: <i>How did you find the experience of changing genres after writing two YA series—the Madman’s Daughter trilogy and the Cage trilogy?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">MS: The thing about young adult books is, they’re long! And the thing about trilogies is, they’re VERY long! So after years spent working on each of my YA projects, I was itching to write a shorter, tighter, more concise story. Also, my young adult books tap into my own teenage years, which were filled with angst and big dreams and curiosity about the world, while my middle-grade books tap into my younger years, which were more innocent and sweeter and felt magical. I love exploring these different sides of my own history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">GC: <i>Why do you believe it is important to tell children stories?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">MS: Stories were how I learned about the world. Growing up in a small town, I was able to visit ancient Egypt and modern-day Nigeria and Boston on the eve of the Revolutionary War through books. They let me understand characters who weren’t like me. They let me see how rich—and also scary and beautiful—the world beyond my hometown could be. I believe that for children, books fall somewhere between daydreams and how-to guides for life. Their importance in growing into a capable, sympathetic, thoughtful adult cannot be overstated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">GC: <i>What’s next for you as a writer?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: large;">MS: The final book in the Cage series, The Gauntlet, comes out in May 2017. After that, I plan to continue writing both YA and MG fiction, as well as continuing to teach classes and speak at writing festivals across the country. Meeting readers face to face is one of my favorite parts of the job.</span><br />
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-84002561982668002122016-05-12T00:00:00.000-04:002016-05-12T00:00:26.209-04:00Blog Tour: The Star-Touched Queen<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A 2016 Most Anticipated Debut by Parade, Buzzfeed, </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Goodreads, Paste Magazine, We Need Diverse Books & more! </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NSQrA37TJEjzVCasFt2FEguUjRLnJGIp0e4eQCYX2v3LhQ0GnWbSaKwcJL1n03bDH5QtOzQ8uxi8GAl2ShSKgycx7SzriK3F2zW5bjyF1YODUUgrMCfrzO7r2wxJkwG_bYZ-7s2hpy8/s1600/The+Star-Touched+Queen+High+Res.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NSQrA37TJEjzVCasFt2FEguUjRLnJGIp0e4eQCYX2v3LhQ0GnWbSaKwcJL1n03bDH5QtOzQ8uxi8GAl2ShSKgycx7SzriK3F2zW5bjyF1YODUUgrMCfrzO7r2wxJkwG_bYZ-7s2hpy8/s640/The+Star-Touched+Queen+High+Res.jpg" width="419" /></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A Novel </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By Rouhani Chokshi</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“A setting drawn from ancient India, romance with feminist sensibilities, and a unique magic system…a <b>stunning debut </b>filled with lush writing, smart characters, and a mysterious plot that provides as many twists as it does swoons.” </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—<i>School Library Journal, </i>STARRED Review</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Chokshi's rich, descriptive writing weaves a lush web...a swoony romance, betrayal, and a journey to power and self-affirmation, with a slightly wicked, slightly funny animal sidekick in the best tradition… work together to create a spell that many readers will willingly succumb to. Richly imagined, deeply mythic, filled with lovely language with violet overtones: <b>this is an author to watch</b>.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—<b><i>Kirkus Reviews </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“This gorgeous debut <b>promises big things to come </b>from Chokshi, who at barely 25 has decades ahead to dazzle us.” </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—Cosmopolitan.com on “8 Life-Changing Novels by Twentysomething Women” </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Chokshi’s first novel is filled to the brim with <b>gorgeous, scintillating writing </b>that easily draws readers into its new take on traditional tales. A <b>unique fantasy that is epic myth and beautiful fairy tale </b>combined.” </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—<i>Booklist </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<b>A heady blend of mythology and metaphor</b>, THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is sure to appeal to fans of Laini Taylor and Leigh Bardugo. Maya is <b>a great character, full of promise and patience</b>, even as the odds are stacked against her.” </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—<i>Romantic Times Book Reviews </i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5MBsK-G2viN7UwFqPWJxKFJa-ommbPJTSYRyc9bC5p30vw5z8Mk8H55p8LMeRl2PJe9ckzW3ZEzcHKGLlqw9e3sHrOb5p7W1_E-rdUBJggYNnuL4A39vCXSBpWDeC80KL_Ujlc7QYDg/s1600/TSTQ+Social+Whim.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5MBsK-G2viN7UwFqPWJxKFJa-ommbPJTSYRyc9bC5p30vw5z8Mk8H55p8LMeRl2PJe9ckzW3ZEzcHKGLlqw9e3sHrOb5p7W1_E-rdUBJggYNnuL4A39vCXSBpWDeC80KL_Ujlc7QYDg/s640/TSTQ+Social+Whim.png" width="416" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN (St. Martin’s Griffin; April 26, 2016) </b>is a lush and vivid standalone debut young adult fantasy that seamlessly weaves the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with Indian folklore. Featuring a smart, independent anti-princess who must take her place as queen and a forbidden romance that defies the odds, debut </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">author Roshani Chokshi pairs beautiful writing with a thrilling pace and compulsive plot, using her own Filipino and Indian heritage to create a culturally diverse and vividly imagined world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From an incredibly fresh voice, Roshani Chokski’s <b>THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN </b>is a beautifully written standalone novel that will enchant young adult and fantasy readers until the last page. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>About the Author</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ROSHANI CHOKSHI </b>comes from a small town in Georgia where she collected a Southern accent, but does not use it unless under duress. She grew up in a blue house with a perpetually napping bear-dog. At Emory University, she dabbled with journalism, attended some classes in pajamas, forgot to buy winter boots and majored in 14th century British literature. She spent a year after graduation working and traveling and writing. After that, she started law school at the University of Georgia where she's learning a new kind of storytelling. More information on the author can be found at www.roshanichokshi.com. </span></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-56074271746043590382016-02-21T00:00:00.000-05:002016-02-21T00:00:11.210-05:00RED blog tour: Fancast by Liesl Shurtliff + GIVEAWAY!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: white;"><i>Oh, reader, what big teeth you have!</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">The better to devour </span></span><b style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">RED: THE TRUE STORY OF RED RIDING HOOD.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Can’t get enough of the new fairy-tale-retelling trend? Don’t miss Liesl Shurtliff’s new dark, humorous stand-alone middle grade novel RED: THE TRUE STORY OF RED RIDING HOOD (on sale April 12, 2016)!<u></u><u></u></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Liesl Shurtliff spins a spellbinding tale, shining the spotlight on one of the most beloved characters from her award-winning debut, <i>Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin.</i> This isn’t the Little Red Riding Hood from the canonical children’s tale. Shurtliff’s Red is strong, independent, brazen, and not afraid of anything . . . except magic. But when Red’s granny falls ill, it seems that only magic can save her, and fearless Red is forced to confront her weakness. Readers will gobble up this bewitching fantasy as they join Red on her journey of discovery through the sinister dangers of the enchanted dark forest. <u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Liesl Shurtliff’s first book, <i>Rump</i>, won over kids and critics alike, earning an IRA Award, a Texas Bluebonnet nomination, a Whitney nomination, and a starred review from <i>Kirkus,</i> proclaiming it “as good as gold.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">In </span><b><span style="color: red;">RED</span><span style="color: white;">,</span></b><span style="color: white;"> Liesl Shurtliff is at her best. </span><i style="color: white;">New York Times</i><span style="color: white;"> bestselling author of </span><i style="color: white;">Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library </i><span style="color: white;">Chris Grabenstein raves that “Liesl Shurtliff has truly out-magicked herself. </span><i style="color: white;">Red</i><span style="color: white;"> is the most wonder-filled fairy tale of them all.” </span><b><span style="color: red;">RED</span></b><span style="color: white;"> will capture the hearts of readers who like it </span><i style="color: white;">Grimm,</i><span style="color: white;"> as well as followers of ABC’s TV show </span><i style="color: white;">Once Upon a Time.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><u>Fancast by the author!</u></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Red: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8t4BlY3kQ3jFUF6OIOciLaojFobMkcXKagXUPr8QDXsBuxVB_1AuvLvnkwdf5ROSjeoOs3Du0rhoYv1gbHw3F4hQoTnybASF2QK6Kx3LbfGgP9MDhnucr9gHl3LFVOvaN6g9wu_nbdiI/s1600/Red+Casting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8t4BlY3kQ3jFUF6OIOciLaojFobMkcXKagXUPr8QDXsBuxVB_1AuvLvnkwdf5ROSjeoOs3Du0rhoYv1gbHw3F4hQoTnybASF2QK6Kx3LbfGgP9MDhnucr9gHl3LFVOvaN6g9wu_nbdiI/s400/Red+Casting.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Chiara Aurelia </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">She’s got the look, the smirk, and the attitude. She was the perfect snob in Pretty Little Liars and she’d make the perfect Little Red. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Goldie: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb3hROsBzieEtqKrLasxhN_XaaTF5w7qGEz1MoTLFNRuDNUnQKMmAUapOzuSLVPhOvTssT2oc9tnptfF1bWB78ShQru67v55vg-C93A8mc8GrB89xrvK71GzLFke4GG87vfMVkYy7iU8/s1600/Goldie+Casting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb3hROsBzieEtqKrLasxhN_XaaTF5w7qGEz1MoTLFNRuDNUnQKMmAUapOzuSLVPhOvTssT2oc9tnptfF1bWB78ShQru67v55vg-C93A8mc8GrB89xrvK71GzLFke4GG87vfMVkYy7iU8/s400/Goldie+Casting.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Kyla Deaver</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Curls and all! This girl would be adorable as Goldie.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Granny: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vJuW17Jg_98Eif4tgM9SECee7dnqlav4AUxqcy-X3BuK7lJ8glYnn_ZGkwKs4L-6QuGCk9o0zhb1I6IFJEjYx4eB8CvnPXJoGJgvevdnjPRbGbgiuSuglNFV5RzQ_C9Vb8Tj1iSObek/s1600/maggie-smith_2389599b.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vJuW17Jg_98Eif4tgM9SECee7dnqlav4AUxqcy-X3BuK7lJ8glYnn_ZGkwKs4L-6QuGCk9o0zhb1I6IFJEjYx4eB8CvnPXJoGJgvevdnjPRbGbgiuSuglNFV5RzQ_C9Vb8Tj1iSObek/s400/maggie-smith_2389599b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Maggie Smith</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">She does everything spot on perfect and I can’t get enough of her. I laugh every time she opens her mouth in Downton Abbey.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Huntsman: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpX11Jl1pSrFpuLylQ4EDFKyg9QRTcWYaJxGNkGULua4mNz5B2BEVjEPlFbURGLQAl6H3OwQWCM4O4h_Xd1bN02mlVm1nKcG9OcbhBYGQzoVH92jmeWEpBfSvb9jfb-Pdp3D5FASlI-c/s1600/Huntsman+Casting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpX11Jl1pSrFpuLylQ4EDFKyg9QRTcWYaJxGNkGULua4mNz5B2BEVjEPlFbURGLQAl6H3OwQWCM4O4h_Xd1bN02mlVm1nKcG9OcbhBYGQzoVH92jmeWEpBfSvb9jfb-Pdp3D5FASlI-c/s400/Huntsman+Casting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Donald Sutherland</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Aside from having great hair, he’s a wonderfully versatile actor, something that would be very important for this role.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Borlen: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Peter Dinklage</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I loved him in Elf and think he’d make a perfect Borlen. He’s a grumpy dwarf, but in a likable sort of way. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>*Spoiler Alert*</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Beast:</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The beast in Red is female and I think <b>Zoe Saldana</b> would be perfect. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I loved her in Guardians of the Galaxy. She has the perfect mix of badass with just a dash of vulnerability that makes her real and not overdone.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>GIVEAWAY!</b></span><br />
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-34580539046375204832015-10-13T17:39:00.000-04:002015-10-14T01:03:07.042-04:00My Agent Story: It Doesn't Save You<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>It doesn't save you.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is the thought that has haunted me since I announced signing with my agent, <a href="https://twitter.com/Mary_C_Moore">Mary C. Moore</a>. The fear that I have nothing more uplifting to say on the matter of achieving representation has kept me from writing this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">During the years of waiting, I had heard stories of authors who received word of book deals while in the aisles of supermarkets. Authors who, after giving a quick jump for joy, returned to scanning the shelves for their toddler's favorite cereal or the breakfast bars their spouses put on the list. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But I never thought it would happen to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I always felt that--in the movie of my life--signing with an agent would be my make-over moment. I thought it would happen in a bubble, a shiny, happy, perfect iridescent bubble. But it happened in real life and I won't patronize you by saying that makes it so much sweeter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I, like any other desperate writer querying their third novel (For the official record: the first was awesome and garnered a ton of praise-- all from agents who ultimately passed the full, giving reasons variant on "I don't know how to sell this;" the second should never have made it out of my desktop alive, I see that now) jumped at any chance to show agents my work unsolicited, and so I entered #PitMad on March 11, 2015 almost exactly three years to the day of my first query. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My agent, Mary, favorited the tweet, along with four other kind souls <strike>okay three if you're discounting me</strike> and requested the first 50 pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On March 18th she requested the full. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJDRBOhaye6bWF5Za6PGO4toaXGgH-mn0oI5Lk640BjhjSoGXu1l6ruC75dkfRLnWNrWny4eL1tYjnWNxhL-C1VZugSO_r5qE0ic_D6T1sXoeZVVOoqnX-GGxD6jAaIkyi_FrMvalsus/s1600/526728_3637882225897_2043309135_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJDRBOhaye6bWF5Za6PGO4toaXGgH-mn0oI5Lk640BjhjSoGXu1l6ruC75dkfRLnWNrWny4eL1tYjnWNxhL-C1VZugSO_r5qE0ic_D6T1sXoeZVVOoqnX-GGxD6jAaIkyi_FrMvalsus/s400/526728_3637882225897_2043309135_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A still life of querying author.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I didn't hear from her again for exactly three months, but on June 18th I got the best birthday present of my life! An e-mail from Mary requesting to speak to me via a phone call. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I had received more full requests and uplifting rejection letters than any other author on the face of the planet (seriously, I am claiming this without fact checking, because while other authors have told stories of pulling out their rejection letters on masochistic days, I would read over mine when I needed a pick-me-up) I had never had an agent request to take a phone call with me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was scrambling. This is a great place to insert that things in my life were not, and are not, going swimmingly, as a discerning reader might have guessed by the opening line of this post. My schedule wasn't wide-open for good news, as sad as that may sound. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70I9H3XZh88wkFi-U8HtI2umQN6e4eqZfvD73Hj0loro92Z5At2Sx2Kllz6zZRVjw-sWZBQkTucJEDzmkqRgum7FfO6y5Y0y2oPU0g7RAijHecKoL02Aak2E6u3O91sTCrPuppzyqkMg/s1600/1234879_10205125707282521_7383125312464706987_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70I9H3XZh88wkFi-U8HtI2umQN6e4eqZfvD73Hj0loro92Z5At2Sx2Kllz6zZRVjw-sWZBQkTucJEDzmkqRgum7FfO6y5Y0y2oPU0g7RAijHecKoL02Aak2E6u3O91sTCrPuppzyqkMg/s400/1234879_10205125707282521_7383125312464706987_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And by then I knew the book had plot problems. I was already addressing those with two other agents who had requested I edit the book and send in another draft when I was ready. (I would just like to say both of these agents--and their assistants--were wonderful and my choosing Mary had nothing to do with them and everything to do with Mary.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We set the date for the 29th of June at 6 PM my time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I assumed that the phone call would consist of Mary feeling me out to assess whether or not I had the makings of a sociopath (hmmm...still debatable) and ultimately asking me to restructure the book based off her edits. Instead she did, what I still believe, after years of *<i>almost-but-not-quite* </i>offers had conditioned me to believe, was the impossible. She said:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"I would like to offer you representation."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And I began to cry-laugh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Not immediately, because this offer came smack-dab in the middle of our conversation; I attempted to formulate some of the questions I had not come prepared to ask, assuming that this was just one more step towards securing an agent, but not, in fact, the moment it would occur. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It took another phone call on July 20th to convince me she was my Chosen One. She sold me when she said it was my writing that had grabbed her: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"I felt like I was reading my favorite author."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For years I had been told the EXACT. SAME. THING. by brilliant and wonderful agents attempting to keep me afloat in an industry saturated with queries. They wanted me to know my writing was worth pursuing, that I absolutely had *something*, it just wasn't something they were excited to sell at the moment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mary stopped short of every clause. She merely said I absolutely had something. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aCg8fyYTlAdjh8nun8bj_uPOx0Vw5YiCDYVzn1JeKVRruybIrXEnQqgGT1suAy1qRox3M2NmHuBi2oZdGNvOOqrwKGLPyTs_x2GDT7phPH-0mmN2EOg-1xv00pDHzsE-eg4w5fwEWZY/s1600/11222542_10207528818038788_5093640804894799630_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aCg8fyYTlAdjh8nun8bj_uPOx0Vw5YiCDYVzn1JeKVRruybIrXEnQqgGT1suAy1qRox3M2NmHuBi2oZdGNvOOqrwKGLPyTs_x2GDT7phPH-0mmN2EOg-1xv00pDHzsE-eg4w5fwEWZY/s400/11222542_10207528818038788_5093640804894799630_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortunes received mere days before my first call from Mary.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Five days later, on July 25th, 2015, over six months from the first pitch, I took a third phone call with her, this one very brief, where I said the words, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"I am formally accepting your offer of representation."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I had a surgery scheduled for the 6th of August, and wouldn't you know, that's the day my contract came in the mail? There's a picture of me somewhere, I haven't yet steeled my vanity to view it, holding the blank forms while still swaddled in bandages and blood-catching contraptions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In its place I offer this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxP4w7Job1dAx8vMrCW2UbvcI85f7FTA4mhlp3YkkifvDN-mi-p4TpCpCOWjrAsmJqUgE3ykfL_E8bP0cE18Rx1gejFKaB_A5nRIWvZijyf-42vY9uZKfvU3WifR0m5SfH0AQX52cVLs/s1600/11895262_10207782296415589_729489386388903004_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxP4w7Job1dAx8vMrCW2UbvcI85f7FTA4mhlp3YkkifvDN-mi-p4TpCpCOWjrAsmJqUgE3ykfL_E8bP0cE18Rx1gejFKaB_A5nRIWvZijyf-42vY9uZKfvU3WifR0m5SfH0AQX52cVLs/s400/11895262_10207782296415589_729489386388903004_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Editing with Mary has been the bright spot of my every day for the past several work-weeks. I personally love editing, which I know sounds ridiculous, but I have always likened this part of the process to the quote attributed to Michelangelo:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set [her] free." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As someone whose life has often resembled a chunk of unpolished rock, rather than a refined statuary, I connect to the sentiment, and to the process of editing, that takes you from one to the other.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KVecuDj3XKeYV3HuYkqzHP1Me7URnAodzom2nB13v0MjD5W3tNL_2kXIFol3EDbGTXWMYDtE8kdpXF-xiKmTRIFUNReJbQlC0oEUgHihqwN_wPnassWh_z7bXhQI2QxUuPX13cHrP54/s1600/541692_3614544122459_405772538_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KVecuDj3XKeYV3HuYkqzHP1Me7URnAodzom2nB13v0MjD5W3tNL_2kXIFol3EDbGTXWMYDtE8kdpXF-xiKmTRIFUNReJbQlC0oEUgHihqwN_wPnassWh_z7bXhQI2QxUuPX13cHrP54/s400/541692_3614544122459_405772538_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This time in my life is much like editing, with additional bumps in the road that really have nothing at all to do with the poetic process, and everything to do with the unrefined realities of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I enjoy editing because it is a product of hope. Mary believes in my book and has offered me hope that it might make someone else believe as well. She has offered me the chance to take steps towards becoming a career author, which is a marathon and not a sprint. At times, she and I tear down sentences to build them back up again and that too is very hopeful, it is the hope that however sturdy the syntax might have been, it can be better, I can be better, we can do more. That I have it in me to be great.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KaO2NX950lbbjM_AFGvC6jyVAl1t2p0uZWYK0bdEj_g3UGFr5NHpoyGKjqqRa2DTOjM7FQ0vQJJSNpDtu48uD53Cp7MyLFuW0Ab0mvItxbxFhSXld-P90cDWB7AppR-PGzTMmlyUFTs/s1600/10523673_10205158649506056_7000224272053730699_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KaO2NX950lbbjM_AFGvC6jyVAl1t2p0uZWYK0bdEj_g3UGFr5NHpoyGKjqqRa2DTOjM7FQ0vQJJSNpDtu48uD53Cp7MyLFuW0Ab0mvItxbxFhSXld-P90cDWB7AppR-PGzTMmlyUFTs/s400/10523673_10205158649506056_7000224272053730699_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Getting an agent does not save you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">An agent is not your fairy-godmother, just as a potential editor is not necessarily Prince Charming. They are, rather, beacons of hope, little lights on the path towards a tomorrow forged by my choices and strengths. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Getting an agent will not--does not--save you, but as an author it reaffirms the hope that you are right to save yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"The life you save may be your own." -- Flannery O'Connor</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I would now like to take this moment to thank some people:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jodimeadows">Jodi Meadows</a>, who read over several drafts of several queries, offered amazing, tireless insight, and made sure none of them ended up in the slush pile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I told her my first novel, a New Adult contemporary, was 111,000 words long she responded, "You know you can kill someone with a manuscript of that size? That's blunt force trauma." I blame her for my love of editing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/StorkFrancisco">Francisco X. Stork</a>, who read my original first novel and was the first person to tell me I had a gift for words. And for coffee and sandwiches in Dallas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KelseyJSutton">Kelsey Sutton</a>, who leapt for joy alongside me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/CindyisWriting">Cindy Thomas</a>, who encouraged me and hacked Publisher's Marketplace for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/K_C_Associates">Kimberly Cameron</a>, whose agency now represents me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And special thanks to Mary, for seeing the angel and for choosing my pitch out of over 50K others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To those of you, you Mod Podge People, who have been a part of the last five years of my life I would also like to extend my warmest thanks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here's to the next five and all the hope to come!</span><br />
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-54903739802776044342015-10-08T00:00:00.000-04:002015-10-08T00:00:08.263-04:00Cover Reveal: SPARK by Holly Schindler <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">“In my hometown, the restoration of a former movie theater on the town square provided the genesis for my new YA novel, SPARK. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of seeing their name in blazing neon across a gigantic marquee? Let me invite you to dim the lights and draw back the velvet curtains—let your imagination run wild as you enter my fictional Avery Theater, where literally <i>anything goes</i>…” </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">—Holly Schindler</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">When the right hearts come to the Avery Theater—at the right time—the magic will return. The Avery will come back from the dead.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or so Quin’s great-grandmother predicted many years ago on Verona, Missouri’s most tragic night, when Nick and Emma, two star-crossed teenage lovers, died on the stage. It was the night that the Avery’s marquee lights went out forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It sounds like urban legend, but one that high school senior Quin is now starting to believe, especially when her best friend, Cass, and their classmate Dylan step onto the stage and sparks fly. It seems that magic can still unfold at the old Avery Theater and a happier ending can still be had—one that will align the stars and revive not only the decrepit theater, but also the decaying town. However, it hinges on one thing—that Quin gets the story right this time around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Holly Schindler brings the magic of the theater to life in this tale of family ties, fate, love, and one girl’s quest to rewrite history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Holly Schindler </b>is the author of three previous YA novels: PLAYING HURT as well as the critically acclaimed FERAL (starred PW review) and A BLUE SO DARK (starred Booklist review, ForeWord Book of the Year silver medal, IPPY gold medal). A writer of books for all ages, Schindler’s MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, has made the master list for children’s book awards in Illinois, South Carolina, and Alabama. She is also a hybrid author, having independently released comedic women’s fiction (FIFTH AVENUE FIDOS) and the forthcoming PLAY IT AGAIN, her adult follow-up to her YA PLAYING HURT. She can be reached through <a href="http://hollyschindler.com/">her author site</a> and hosts special sneak peeks and giveaways for subscribers of <a href="http://tinyletter.com/hollyschindler.com">her newsletter</a>.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Spark “Premieres” May 17, 2016, but you can buy your “tickets” now. Links to pre-order: </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Holly-Schindler/dp/0062220233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443300868&sr=8-1&keywords=spark+holly+schindler">Amazon</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spark-holly-schindler/1122566794?ean=9780062220233">B&N</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062220233">IndieBound</a></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Add to your TBR list: </i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26155766-spark">Goodreads</a></b></span></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-24039417544205865702015-09-30T00:00:00.000-04:002015-09-30T00:00:06.764-04:00Random House Children's Banned Book Blog Tour: The Face On the Milk Carton<div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">We are... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The Face on the Milk Carton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">by Caroline B. Cooney</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/100-most-frequently-challenged-books-1990%E2%80%931999"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The American Library Association's 80th most frequently challenged title from 1990-1999</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009">TFotMC jumped to the 29th position on the list from 2000-2009</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To learn more about Banned & Challenged books <a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/about">follow this link</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"According to bannedbooks.com, in a list of banned books for Texas, Caroline B. Cooney's the Face on the Milk Carton was banned for sexual content and challenge of authority.</i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">-- <a href="http://thefaceonthmilkcartonisawesome.weebly.com/caroline-b-cooney.html">Do Not Censor "The Face On the Milk Carton"</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Today I encourage YOU to challenge any authority that would censor your freedom to read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Pick up the first book in the Janie Johnson series, or any other Banned or Challenged titles, and proudly proclaim:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>#IReadBannedBooks</b></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: white;">Random House Children’s Banned Book Week Blog Tour Schedule</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Sunday, September 27</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://goodbooksandgoodwine.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Good Books & Good Wine</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Golden Compass</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Philip Pullman</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Live to Read</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Anastasia Krupnik</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> by Lois Lowry</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Monday, September 28</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.likesbooks.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>All About Romance</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Chocolate War</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Robert Cormier</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://bookiemoji.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>BookieMoji</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">. by Judy Bloom</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Tuesday, September 29</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://wordspelunking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Word Spelunking</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Roald Dahl</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>The Eater of Books</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Boy Who Lost His Face</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> by Louis Sachar</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Wednesday, September 30</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://themodpodgebookshelf.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>The Mod Podge Bookshelf</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Face On the Milk Carton</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Caroline B. Cooney</span></li>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://curling-up-with-a-good-book.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Curling Up With A Good Book</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Jump Ship to Freedom</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Thursday, October 1</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://exlibriskate.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Ex Libris</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Blood and Chocolate</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Annette Curtis Klause</span></li>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.alicemarvels.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Alice Marvels</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>A Day No Pigs Would Die</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> by Robert Newton Peck</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Friday October 2</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://wordsweheart.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Words Sweetheart</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>Taming the Star Runner</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by S. E. Hinton</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://bookchicclub.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>Book Chic Club</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Indian in the Cupboard</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Lynne Reid Banks</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Saturday, October 3</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="http://yabibliophile.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>YA Bibliophile</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>The Cay</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">by Theodore Taylor</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="http://theirishbanana.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><u>The Irish Banana</u></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i>How to Eat Fried Worms</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> by Thomas Rockwell</span></span></li>
</span></ul>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D5908017075262243161%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D2403941754420586570%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-YbhzehpHI7E%2FVgtOpb9onaI%2FAAAAAAAAHWo%2Fg6G0L_MkGZA%2Fs640%2F7920862a086035f930e3499735044c0d.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=XTgojeUFzt_v&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 256px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1737px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D5908017075262243161%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D2403941754420586570%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-YbhzehpHI7E%2FVgtOpb9onaI%2FAAAAAAAAHWo%2Fg6G0L_MkGZA%2Fs640%2F7920862a086035f930e3499735044c0d.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=XTgojeUFzt_v&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 256px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1737px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-23284167008155873452015-09-22T00:00:00.000-04:002015-09-22T00:00:04.062-04:00Blog Tour: The Weight of Feathers EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">BLOG TOUR </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsLGJc6MDKCb4MUG7wKwlHJOEzaHgYCPxpwnjf_7cG4aBedZksYxPSHOO8AfaHYS5rCgqb2xRq2P7oILz2spbI_m66i8TGsfg8fQ9cWZXAAax7-kIM7iXcELTZSDJAsRRrwpupUTdQtw/s1600/WOF+Image+Quote+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsLGJc6MDKCb4MUG7wKwlHJOEzaHgYCPxpwnjf_7cG4aBedZksYxPSHOO8AfaHYS5rCgqb2xRq2P7oILz2spbI_m66i8TGsfg8fQ9cWZXAAax7-kIM7iXcELTZSDJAsRRrwpupUTdQtw/s400/WOF+Image+Quote+1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20734002-the-weight-of-feathers?from_search=true&search_version=service">THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS: A Novel</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">By Anna-Marie McLemore</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">St. Martin’s Griffin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Sale: September 15, 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hardcover: 978-1-250-05865-2/ $18.99 USD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">eBook: 978-1-466-87323-0 / $9.99 USD</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">EXCERPT</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The feathers were Lace’s first warning. They showed up between suitcases, in the trunk of her father’s station wagon, on the handles of came-with-the-car first-aid kits so old the gauze had yellowed. They snagged on antennas, turning the local stations to static.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace’s mother found a feather in with the family’s costumes the day they crossed into Almendro, a town named for almond fields that once filled the air with the scent of sugary blossoms and bitter wood. But over the last few decades an adhesive plant had bought out the farms that could not survive the droughts, and the acres of almonds dwindled to a couple of orchards on the edge of town.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The wisp of that black feather caught on a cluster of sequins. Lace knew from the set to her mother’s eyes that she’d throw the whole mermaid tail in a bucket and burn it, elastane and all.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace grabbed the tail and held on. If her mother burned it, it would take Lace and her great-aunt at least a week to remake it. Tía Lora’s hands were growing stiff, and Lace’s were new and slow.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Her mother tried to pull the tail from her grip, but Lace balled the fabric in her hands.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Let go,” her mother warned.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“It’s one feather.” Lace dug in her fingers. “It’s not them.” Lace knew the danger of touching a Corbeau. Her abuela said she’d be better off petting a rattlesnake. But these feathers were not the Corbeaus’ skin. They didn’t hold the same poison as a Corbeau’s body.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“It’s cursed,” her mother said. One hard tug, and she won. She threw the costume tail into a bucket and lit it. The metal pail grew hot as a stove. The fumes off the melting sequins stung Lace’s throat.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Did you have to burn the whole thing?” she asked.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Better safe, mija,” her mother said, wetting down the undergrowth with day-old aguas frescas so the brush wouldn’t catch.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>They could have cleaned the tail, blessed it, stripped away the feather’s touch. Burning it only gave the Corbeaus more power. Those feathers already had such weight. The fire in the pail was an admission that, against them, Lace’s family had no guard.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Before Lace was born, the Palomas and the Corbeaus had just been competing acts, two of the only shows left that bothered with the Central Valley’s smallest towns. Back then it was just business, not hate. Even now Lace’s family sometimes ended up in the same town with a band of traveling singers or acrobats, and there were no fights, no blood. Only the wordless agreement that each of them were there to survive, and no grudges after. Every fall when the show season ended, Lace’s aunts swapped hot-plate recipes with a trio of trapeze artists. Her father traded homeschooling lesson plans with a troupe of Georgian folk dancers.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Corbeaus never traded anything with anyone. They shared nothing, took nothing. They kept to themselves, only straying from the cheapest motel in town to give one of Lace’s cousins a black eye, or leave a dead fish at the riverbank. Lace and Martha found the last one, its eye shining like a wet marble.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Before Lace was born, these were bloodless threats, ways the Corbeaus tried to rattle her family before their shows. Now every Paloma knew there was nothing the Corbeaus wouldn’t do.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace’s mother watched the elastane threads curl inside a shell of flame. “They’re coming,” she said.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Did you think they wouldn’t?” Lace asked. Her mother smiled. “I can hope, can’t I?”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>She could hope all she wanted. The Corbeaus wouldn’t give up the crowds that came with Almendro’s annual festival. So many tourists, all so eager to fill their scrapbooks. That meant two weeks in Almendro. Two weeks when the younger Paloma men hardened their fists, and their mothers prayed they didn’t come home with broken ribs.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace’s grandmother set the schedule each year, and no one spoke up against Abuela. If they ever did, she’d pack their bags for them. Lace had watched Abuela cram her cousin Licha’s things into a suitcase, clearing her perfumes and lipsticks off the motel dresser with one sweep of her arm. When Lace visited her in Visalia and they went swimming, Licha’s two-piece showed that her escamas, the birthmarks that branded her a Paloma, had disappeared.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace’s mother taught her that those birthmarks kept them safe from the Corbeaus’ feathers. That family was el Diablo on earth, with dark wings strapped to their bodies, French on their tongues, a sprinkling of gypsy blood. When Lace slept, they went with her, living in nightmares made of a thousand wings.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Another black feather swirled on a downdraft. Lace watched it spin and fall. It settled in her hair, its slight weight like a moth’s feet.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Her mother snatched it off Lace’s head. “¡Madre mía!” she cried, and threw it into the flames.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lace’s cousins said the Corbeaus grew black feathers right out of their heads, like hair. She never believed it. It was another rumor that strengthened the Corbeaus’ place in their nightmares. But the truth, that wind pulled feathers off the wings they wore as costumes, wasn’t a strong enough warning to keep Paloma children from the woods.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“La magia negra,” her mother said. She always called those feathers black magic.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The fire dimmed to embers. Lace’s mother gave the pail a hard kick. It tumbled down the bank and into the river, the hot metal hissing and sinking.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Let them drown,” her mother said, and the last of the rim vanished.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS by Anna-Marie McLemore. Copyright © 2015 by the author and reprinted by permission of Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Griffin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Night Circus meets Romeo and Juliet in this stunning young adult novel about two teens who fall in love despite the almost impossible odds against them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Palomas and the Corbeaus have long been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as traveling performers in competing shows-the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lace Paloma may be new to her family's show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra, black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she's been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it's a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace's life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anna-Marie McLemore was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and grew up in a Mexican-American family. She attended University of Southern California on a Trustee Scholarship. A Lambda Literary Fellow, she has had work featured by the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, CRATE Literary Magazine's cratelit, Camera Obscura's Bridge the Gap Series, and The Portland Review. The Weight of Feathers is her first novel.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://author.annamariemclemore.com/">Website </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“McLemore’s prose is ethereal and beguiling… The enchanting setup and the forbidden romance that blooms between these two outcasts will quickly draw readers in, along with the steady unspooling of the families’ history and mutual suspicions in this promising first novel.” —<b><i>Publishers Weekly</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Readers beguiled by the languorous language—a striking mix of French and Spanish phrases, wry colloquialism, lush imagery, and elevated syntax—will find themselves falling under its spell. The third-person narration alternates between Lace and Cluck, doling out twists and building to a satisfying, romantic conclusion.” —<b><i>Kirkus Reviews</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“</i>In this tale of magical realism, the magic is so deftly woven into the fabric of the story… Told with skillful poetic nuances, this Romeo-and-Juliet story of forbidden love will entice fans of Maggie Stiefvater’s <i>Raven Cycle</i> who wished for a little more romance.” —<b><i>School Library Journal</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>“</i></b>Anna-Marie McLemore's debut novel is a very imaginative modern-day romance akin to Romeo and Juliet and is infused with the whimsy of magical realism.” —<b><i>RT Book Reviews</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">“</span>You've never read a love story quite like this one. Anna-Marie McLemore has created in entirely imaginative world and rich characters that will pull you in as if she's spinning magic herself.” <b>—<i>Bustle</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“</b>With prose as magical as its characters, <i>The Weight of Feathers</i> is an exciting debut.” —<b><i>Paste Magazine</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“</b>McLemore’s debut novel has ties to <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, David Almond’s mythical <i>Skellig</i>, and the real-life performances of Cirque du Soleil.” —<b><i>Booklist</i></b></span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-77944810093244850852015-09-15T00:00:00.000-04:002015-09-15T00:00:00.505-04:00The Gilded Hour: Guest Blog by Sara Donati<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I started reading about medicine in the latter part of the 19th century, three themes struck me: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First, <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/redirect/enplj7toxdaqrf9l6mwengenfstequu0xstljiesxfohp7qsih_hqygcyjvnspfob0qmgwbqr1e59peb3famq0f7e_yluyveqgmvcwy-nhauvv3htbxv745sqiss0tclyrryypnuajauvawixtmfn-wqv2kg0ma8qzrenwnzoatwgkuouv5plpfs-tnnkoa1wzty7dw8mudaqnbhbe32uhzpm1pvcifr6xilk77h4r-v-5epz_k0dgn_epkxsdbxi2bmcime4ijpuw-fx5hqvsa">Ignaz Semmelweis</a>, <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/redirect/eNplj8tOxDAMRf_F604fCYW0K0aIHQvEaHaVouKYTgSJozzEAvHvpAixgOX1OZavPyBiyDCDeYmrR74N5LdifQ2G3YVLohbZQQPPCWY5NhBWrPrd-XS8vjmKoRJK1sCshmkQo5RTA1hSZkcR2dAfN-yqvGog0mbZVxoiZ8J8KKl11hGuKf9cLPGt8kvOIc1Lt3Tk23f7agMZu7Yct6Xb49I9cLFJP9ZFKvG7Kf6ruL94_6TPp2HsD0r_Mi36OlFCaKmVUlLJaerh8wt5_lWc">Louis Pasteur</a>, <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/redirect/eNplj7tOxDAQRf9lam8SxwScVCyIBlGx2i6SZewhsSAeyw9RIP4dB60ooLz3HGnufEI0IcME9jVqb-g2oF-K8zVY2lYqCRtDGzB4STCJgUHQpur359Px-ubY80owOQuT5CPvByFGBqakTBtGQxb_uGFXxRWDiIsjX2mIlNHkQ0nN5jY0OuXLxRLfK19zDmma27lF33y4NxfQOt1QXOZ2j3P7SAnDqp5cyhiZ4imrOx3JX5qf7ebf6P3ph2d1PvGhO0j1y1Tf1Ub2vRJKSimkGMcOvr4BWU9cTg">Joseph Lister</a> and <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/redirect/eNplj7tOAzEQRf9l6s0-bBa8WxEhOipCupUsY082Fthj-aEUiH_Hi6IUUN45R7p3viDqkGEGc4rKa3oM6NdifQ2G3JlKwlaTgwbeE8x8bCAoXfWn42F__7BnQyWYrIFZDNPARs6nBnRJmRxGTQb_uGFT-V0DEVdLvtIQKaPOu5JaZx1qlfK1scTPys85hzQv3dKhby_2wwY0VrUU16Xb4tK9qEsiL9-Uzb879b-B24PPr_J4GMZ-J-SNSdbXi2BMcimE4IJPUw_fP7F1VLI">Lawson Tait</a> were responsible for the revolution in bacteriology and asepsis that that sent medical science leaping forward. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Second, things were evolving so fast that for a long time there was no infrastructure and doctors and researchers developed their own protocols. Any theory, no matter how specious the underlying science, could be pursued, and with human subjects. Probably the best known instance of this was J. Marion Sims, who was credited, for many years, as the father of gynecological science. Eventually his methods came to light, and they weren't pretty: he was a southern slave holder when he first started practicing medicine, and he used female slaves to test and refine his theories on surgical treatment of gynecological problems. Systematically, over a period of years when there was no anesthesia, he operated on the same female slaves again and again. As a result he did actually develop a way to fix fistulas -- tears in the vaginal walls that sometimes protruded into bladder or colon, and were horrific for the sufferer -- surgically. He also invented the speculum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When asked about his use of slaves, he gave the usual answers: his slaves were thankful for his help. This kind of experimentation went on throughout the 19th century, and not only with slave women. For example, there was a theory that hysteria and insanity originated in the female reproductive organs. I can show you multiple medical journal articles claiming that a woman could be cured of her unnatural leanings (which could mean anything) by female castration (excision of the external genitalia) and complete hysterectomy. There are reports of this surgery being done and claims of success. I imagine that a woman who was forcibly hospitaled and subject to this kind of mutilation would either shut down emotionally, or be consumed by anger. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Third -- and what struck me especially was that all this was happening as women were finally breaking into medicine. Because they were not allowed into traditional medical schools, they set up schools and hospitals and infirmaries and societies of their own. Even then, by law, in some parts of the country, female physicians were restricted to treating women and children, and for the most part this meant the poorest and most vulnerable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So the thing that interested me was how these three things came together. How a woman could train as a scientist and a physician and in the process, be exposed to these theories and practices without rebeling. Because not all female physicians had a problem with the state of affairs, but many did. A female physician who spent all her time treating the poor and destitute was confronted, first and foremost, with issues of reproduction. Poor women, undernourished, overworked, often died in childbed -- even after antiseptic measures were universally accepted as necessary. Men were working overtime to restrict access to birth control, and abortion was outlawed. Anthony Comstock went after any physician who broke these laws, and was sometimes successful at sending them to prison. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These were the things that I had in mind as I began writing The Gilded Hour and thinking about the two female physicians at the center of the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A brief summary of the book:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The year is 1883 and New York City is aflutter with extraordinary change. As the Brooklyn Bridge nears completion in the background, the gap between severe poverty and extreme wealth and splendor is visible on every corner. Anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock is determined to purge the city of anything indecent, and will stop at nothing to make sure his agenda is pursued. Anna Savard and her cousin Sophie Savard have become successful physicians, graduates from the Woman’s Medical School, and they treat the city’s most vulnerable occupants. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Anna works with orphaned children who remind her of her own upbringing as an orphan herself. When she encounters four children that have lost everything, she is faced with dealing with the pain of her past or choosing to allow love into her life. Sophie, the orphan daughter of free people of color, is an obstetrician. Comstock’s anti-vice crusade puts any physician administering contraception or abortions in harm’s way. Sophie struggles between upholding the oath as she took as a physician and helping a young, desperate mother, and fearing for her own life if she dares defy Comstock. Her choices catapult both her and Anna into the orbit of this very dangerous man.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Fans of the Wilderness series will see some glimmers of the characters they have grown to love, but new readers will enjoy THE GILDED HOUR as a standalone novel set in one of the most exciting times in America’s—and New York City’s—history. </i></span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-33886969298495119892015-09-08T00:00:00.000-04:002015-09-08T00:00:06.825-04:00Compulsion Paperback Tour<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBKn9EdvZIHEFrBg61qTuqHBQG8xMeRCHjND_LXwqB5CGS9suloyPtQmVLwP1AymtXYfODUAS_Yska94Xd3sN-Fh8QmvA-Ilc-uB3N5_IfS0tHDNg-45BT6Sxp8Q5RsBNRs8HoXzbBbE/s1600/banner+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBKn9EdvZIHEFrBg61qTuqHBQG8xMeRCHjND_LXwqB5CGS9suloyPtQmVLwP1AymtXYfODUAS_Yska94Xd3sN-Fh8QmvA-Ilc-uB3N5_IfS0tHDNg-45BT6Sxp8Q5RsBNRs8HoXzbBbE/s400/banner+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Scavenger Hunt!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Don't forget! There’s a fun scavenger hunt that’s part of this blog tour. Martina is releasing at least one new download each day! Visit each blog to find their code to unlock the the unique download and for more chances to win! You can find the full list of tour stops on the <b><a href="http://martinaboone.com/index.php/books/downloadables/tour/" target="_blank">Tour Home Page.</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For today’s codeword, keep reading below, and find the <b><span style="color: red;">CODEWORD </span></b>in all caps. You’ll find the instructions on what to do with that codeword down below as well!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">COMPULSION by Martina Boone</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">October 28, 2014, Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Family, Legends, Myths, Fables, Mystery, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 448</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient </b>curse<b>.</b></span></h3>
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</b>All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead—a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others <b><span style="color: red;">MAGIC</span></b>al gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn't what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
<b>Available Now in Hardcover, Paperback, and Audio</b>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20759498-compulsion">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481411226">IndieBound</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/compulsion-martina-boone/1118600527">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Compulsion-Heirs-Watson-Island-Martina/dp/1481411225/adveninchilds-20">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/36955900">Walmart</a> | <a href="http://www.target.com/p/compulsion-hardcover/-/A-15682968#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=compulsion">Target</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Compulsion-Martina-Boone/9781481411226">Book Depository</a> (free worldwide shipping)</span><br />
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<b><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Pre-Order Heirs of Watson Island Book Two!</span></b></h3>
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<b>PERSUASION by Martina Boone</b>October 27, 2015, Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Family, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Legends, Myths, Fables, Mystery, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 464 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23450710-persuasion">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481411257">IndieBound</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/persuasion-martina-boone/1121191068">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Heirs-Watson-Island-Martina/dp/148141125X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423444894&sr=1-4">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Persuasion-Martina-Boone/9781481411257">Book Depository</a> | (free worldwide shipping)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> About the Author</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Martina Boone spoke several languages before she learned English after moving to the U.S. She has never fallen out of love with words, fairy tale settings, or characters who have to find themselves. She is the author of <i>Compulsion</i>, the acclaimed first book in the Heirs of Watson Island trilogy. with <i>Persuasion</i> releasing 10/27/15. She is also the founder of <a href="http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/">AdventuresInYAPublishing.com</a>, a Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, the <a href="http://www.compulsionforreading.com/">CompulsionForReading.com</a> book drive campaign for underfunded schools and libraries, and <a href="http://www.yaseriesinsiders.com/">YASeriesInsiders.com</a>, a site devoted to the discovery and celebration of young adult literature and encouraging literacy through YA series. Locally in her home state, she is on the board of the <a href="http://www.lcnv.org/">Literacy Council of Northern Virginia</a>, helping to promote literacy and adult education initiatives.
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">13 Free Downloads, Word-Search Fun, and a <i>Persuasion</i> Pre-Order Giveaway</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you've read and loved <i>Compulsion</i>, good news! <i>Persuasion</i> releases October 27th!
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>To say thank you to all the amazing readers </b>who've let her know that they're looking forward to reading the sequel packed with more mystery, magic, and romance--not to mention a ghost or two or six--and to celebrate Barrie Watsons gift of finding lost things, Martina has some great giveaways going on. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>There are thirteen code words in the grid below</b> that relate to <i>Persuasion</i> and the Heirs of Watson Island series. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>From 8/31 to 9/11, the <i>Compulsion</i> paperback blog tour will reveal </b>the code word or words that will unlock a special page at <a href="http://www.martinaboone.com/">http://www.MartinaBoone.com</a> that day. (Yes, somewhere on this page, there is a <span style="color: red;">CODE WORD</span>!) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>There are three great giveaways</b> (see below!) plus even more giveaways that are exclusive to Martina's website when you visit. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>As a code word unlocks a page, </b>you can go to that page to download free items. There will be stickers, DYI origami bookmark, traditional bookmarks, door hangers, book plates, beautiful wallpapers, and more. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>To unlock a page, replace the word CODEWORD in the following URL</b> with the actual code and type or copy the whole thing into the address bar of your web browser: <a href="http://martinaboone.com/index.php/books/downloadables/CODEWORD/">http://martinaboone.com/index.php/books/downloadables/CODEWORD/</a> </span></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ALL pages will be unlocked by 9/11. </span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>All downloads are free,</b> and most are available whether or not you pre-order. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>A few downloads will only be available with a pre-order receipt</b> or order number. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Wherever you need a pre-order receipt, there's also a special Rafflecopter</b> with additional AMAZING giveaways. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>With</b> <b>pre-order, a limited number of people will also receive </b>a signed bookplate, bumper sticker, and beautiful signed <i>Compulsion</i> and <i>Persuasion</i> charm bookmarks with ribbons. </span></li>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>Word Search Puzzle</u></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want a sneak peak at all the code words? Here's the word search puzzle that contains all thirteen! But remember, one is unlocked for every stop on the blog tour, so you'll need to stop by each of the tour hosts to find the code word that day so you can download the freebies! </span></div>
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<a href="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/wordsearch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img align="center" alt="wordsearch" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1354" src="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/wordsearch.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Enter the Giveaways!</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Prize One:
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Prize Two:
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<a href="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Prize2-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Prize2-1024x768.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Prize Three:
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<a href="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Prize3-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://martinaboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Prize3-1024x768.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/DP4LQ/compulsion-for-reading-blog-tour" rel="nofollow">Compulsion For Reading Blog Tour</a>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">DON'T FORGET! </span></b></h3>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Follow the rest of the tour for more free downloads every day!</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For daily updated links to all the tour stops and codes for free downloadables, plus more prizes and chances to win, <a href="http://martinaboone.com/index.php/books/downloadables/tour/">go here</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255); color: #0433ff; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20759498-compulsion"><b>Compulsion</b></a></span><b> by Martina Boone - </b></div>
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<b>out now in paperback & hardcover </b></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481411226"><b>IndieBound</b></a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><b> | </b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/compulsion-martina-boone/1118600527"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Barnes & Noble</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Compulsion-Heirs-Watson-Island-Martina/dp/1481411225/adveninchilds-20"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Amazon</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/36955900"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Walmart</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.target.com/p/compulsion-hardcover/-/A-15682968#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=compulsion"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Target</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Compulsion-Martina-Boone/9781481411226"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Book Depository</b></span></a></span></div>
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<b>& audiobook!</b></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://tantor.com/compulsion-martina-boone.html"><b>Audio CD via Tantor</b></a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><b> | </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Compulsion-Watson-Island-Martina-Boone/dp/1494561271/ref=tmm_abk_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1428114556"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Audio CD via Amazon</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Compulsion-Heirs-Watson-Island-Book/dp/B00VMWZG5Y/adveninchilds-20"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Audio via Audible</b></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Pre-order Persuasion:</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.5px;"> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481411257"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255); color: #0433ff; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5px;"><b>IndieBound</b></span></a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 13.5px;"><b> | </b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/persuasion-martina-boone/1121191068"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Barnes & Noble</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Heirs-Watson-Island-Martina/dp/148141125X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423444894&sr=1-4"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Amazon</b></span></a><b> | </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Persuasion-Martina-Boone/9781481411257"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b>Book Depository</b></span></a><b> </b>| <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255);"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23450710-persuasion">Goodreads</a></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D5908017075262243161%23editor&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmartinaboone.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2015%252F08%252Fwordsearch.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=XTgojeUFzt_v&description=wordsearch" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 153px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 4529px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D5908017075262243161%23editor&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmartinaboone.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2015%252F08%252Fwordsearch.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=XTgojeUFzt_v&description=wordsearch" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 153px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 4529px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-68257445542617356532015-08-16T14:46:00.000-04:002015-08-16T14:46:42.483-04:00Cover Reveal: America's First Daughter + GIVEAWAY!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>AMERICA'S FIRST DAUGHTER</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Releasing March 1st, 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">William Morrow</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Historical Fiction </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25743802-america-s-first-daughter" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxuQK83Kc54WBXi50ssIvAuUklxY2kbKm-cpZQYfhfPaYsubdV-LuGc_vpuR8YOszF0gMJfbuCVPWePH9W9ql7EuZaevblIIgfUwJGcfdz73srFHpwVIpNx-xpc_jmR1HZudZfhtjMMY/s1600/Goodreads.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In a compelling, richly
researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources,
bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating,
untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson
Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and
shaped an American legacy.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From her earliest days, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson
knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his
country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes
his helpmate in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he
becomes American minister to France. And it is in Paris, at the glittering
court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that she learns of her
father’s liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Patsy too has fallen in love—with her father’s
protégé, William Short, a staunch abolitionist intent on a career in Europe.
Heartbroken at having to decide between being William’s wife or a devoted
daughter, she returns to Virginia with her father and marries a man of his
choosing, raising eleven children of her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet as family secrets come to light during her
father’s presidency, Patsy must again decide how much she will sacrifice to
protect his reputation, in the process defining not just Jefferson’s political
legacy, but that of the nation he founded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Americas-First-Daughter-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B00ZP4KE70">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/americas-first-daughter-stephanie-dray/1122135622?ean=9780062347268">B&N</a> | <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/americas-first-daughter/id1006670116?mt=11">iTunes</a> | <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/nl-NL/ebook/america-s-first-daughter">Kobo</a></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 115%;">Win!</span></b></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="521ac4c8765" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/521ac4c8765/" id="rcwidget_fssnv6wv" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4ctb7PdpUjpb2_7F_CeR5dsZBLN-Y___3RlFEMkan3CYY_qEl_rxg5AMbl0eIufcO5Y0jPPPSMmvPZBGX339xmRThUt1-Yk06eXTbYq0nn8vAHCUJ2lxdkTPaDUcN3oi2OH_Q5vpf_o/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4ctb7PdpUjpb2_7F_CeR5dsZBLN-Y___3RlFEMkan3CYY_qEl_rxg5AMbl0eIufcO5Y0jPPPSMmvPZBGX339xmRThUt1-Yk06eXTbYq0nn8vAHCUJ2lxdkTPaDUcN3oi2OH_Q5vpf_o/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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LAURA KAMOIE has always been fascinated by the people, stories, and physical presence of the past, which led her to a lifetime of historical and archaeological study and training. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction as the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, Laura Kaye. Her debut historical novel, America's First Daughter, co-authored with Stephanie Dray, allowed her the exciting opportunity to combine her love of history with her passion for storytelling. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two daughters.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Find Laura Here</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.laurakamoie.com/">Website</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Laurakamoieauthor?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/laurakayeauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14108578.Laura_Kamoie" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4dxOPSmbkrX0xlC0TMtuA9DKmL72SDmhq4lS3Q2Nku7YwlDhjNFoDDIFspAs8rEhyphenhyphend_iUlgx6E9aNkNy6LHyjFtCmt1kHYizPI4NY-CrvsEi-6KHku6_GjX2BLROyzB4fCXyOhBjawg/s1600/Stephanie-Dray-Headshot-smaller-200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4dxOPSmbkrX0xlC0TMtuA9DKmL72SDmhq4lS3Q2Nku7YwlDhjNFoDDIFspAs8rEhyphenhyphend_iUlgx6E9aNkNy6LHyjFtCmt1kHYizPI4NY-CrvsEi-6KHku6_GjX2BLROyzB4fCXyOhBjawg/s1600/Stephanie-Dray-Headshot-smaller-200x300.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">STEPHANIE
DRAY is a bestselling and award-nominated author of historical women’s
fiction. Her series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into six
different languages, was nominated for a RITA Award and won the Golden Leaf. As
STEPHANIE DRAVEN, she is a national bestselling author of paranormal romance,
contemporary romance, and American-set historical women’s fiction. She is a
frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near
the nation’s capital. Before she became a novelist, she was a lawyer, a game
designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the stories of women in history to
inspire the young women of today.</span><span style="font-family: Book Antiqua, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.stephaniedray.com/">Website</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/stephaniedrayauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/stephaniehdray" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>|<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/StephanieDray" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></span></b></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-49537748512509794902015-07-18T23:29:00.002-04:002015-07-18T23:29:43.864-04:00Books to Good Homes (ARCs for Trade!)<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="850" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fFax0iYK61VDfB5rKb-CtyXoZJxJ1UeYS4tW8UX90RU/viewform?embedded=true" width="600">Loading...</iframe></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-26855201063988191522015-06-20T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-05T14:04:02.015-04:00Hello, I Love You Blog Tour: Fancast + GIVEAWAY!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">First, let's have a little mood music: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Listen to <a href="http://smarturl.it/HILYP">Katie’s Spotify playlist for HELLO, I LOVE YOU</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I had a ton of fun fancasting my characters! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Some of them were casted very early on in my brain while I was writing - I actually had two singers in mind while I was writing the rough draft of the book!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I’d love to hear who you think Grace, Jason, Sophie, and everyone else looks like, so hit me up on Twitter or Tumblr with your picks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Grace - Lily James</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrQw7kQoAhFVr2USoxRo2RF1g9QbiUlC8jsuGcTcrwEfBTEgC0BSiZUAzwCsbMu7loYiKCVMHwyIDdp7cVIg5pmyX3gKQkwpnUE1t-YE6f3UdKiXOQfxKD9QAQGjdE2T6kZ2wW3kL7F4/s1600/grace2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrQw7kQoAhFVr2USoxRo2RF1g9QbiUlC8jsuGcTcrwEfBTEgC0BSiZUAzwCsbMu7loYiKCVMHwyIDdp7cVIg5pmyX3gKQkwpnUE1t-YE6f3UdKiXOQfxKD9QAQGjdE2T6kZ2wW3kL7F4/s640/grace2.jpg" title="http://www.swide.com/celebrities/lily-james-5-facts-including-boyfriend-matt-smith-cinderella-and-downton-abbey-5/2014/06/26" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I’m a Lily James fan in general. (I mean, how can you not love her as Cinderella?!) Plus, I think she has the perfect hair for Grace. And girl’s got attitude, which totally fits my sassy, broken protagonist.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0jLFuqncbrOHuvV-08AxDYA22rdALPfUmsUEZs_oWWcWZ195jPCJOQjI7sYxF3EOMjHcYMTXxOWHvpzakkN7XDoW4Els4HWfiD6w9cGrlGaD0pgazKoAiY6qNvqMWUW3rkzOAfo9FSg/s1600/jason1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0jLFuqncbrOHuvV-08AxDYA22rdALPfUmsUEZs_oWWcWZ195jPCJOQjI7sYxF3EOMjHcYMTXxOWHvpzakkN7XDoW4Els4HWfiD6w9cGrlGaD0pgazKoAiY6qNvqMWUW3rkzOAfo9FSg/s640/jason1.jpg" title="http://jujalica.tumblr.com/post/46326683289/purpledream08-perfect-i-fell-in-love-with-him" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yonghwa was actually the first character I casted in my head. I knew while I was still rough drafting that he was who Jason looked like. Actually, if you’ve ever seen the Korean drama Heartstrings, you may recognize some of the outfits I describe Jason wearing as ones he wore in that drama. I just loved those sweaters and colorful shoes so much!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGRO47lkQELz2poVH5R4K7GSVP-hMP8fF7yt9ckFelES5EJY-h87tT7EM7p1Ii0QkIVFxCCspFSpWUAz4puhdtYf9K01Au3yNqIffd7t406EMxyBNAVtVib7d4Ip_alHSO37DvICJl-E/s1600/sophie2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGRO47lkQELz2poVH5R4K7GSVP-hMP8fF7yt9ckFelES5EJY-h87tT7EM7p1Ii0QkIVFxCCspFSpWUAz4puhdtYf9K01Au3yNqIffd7t406EMxyBNAVtVib7d4Ip_alHSO37DvICJl-E/s640/sophie2.jpg" title="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/1a/da/96/1ada964951713cb60bad39e5421f0b6c.jpg" width="470" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sophie is another character I knew early on who I would cast. IU has been one of my favorite KPOP singers since I saw her in the drama Dream High, and I think she perfectly embodies Sophie’s sweetness and charm.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15iu0wtyQ_cSgriAiNlMSiSYth_qmd1517SEOuxR5Lhd-_XoZrtzIYyTv1E4NtrkF9G3dfz6DfjCUA6-UuAQ1UI8SnSs53mLGt7hAqLpgGSblXqYfYzr5zd4w54-0SL3N8SVe50M4q-w/s1600/yoonjae1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15iu0wtyQ_cSgriAiNlMSiSYth_qmd1517SEOuxR5Lhd-_XoZrtzIYyTv1E4NtrkF9G3dfz6DfjCUA6-UuAQ1UI8SnSs53mLGt7hAqLpgGSblXqYfYzr5zd4w54-0SL3N8SVe50M4q-w/s640/yoonjae1.jpg" title="http://kmagazinelovers.tumblr.com/post/92043825796/2pm-taecyeon-instyle-magazine-august-issue-14" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I wanted Yoon Jae to be really striking, where you turn your head when he walks by. I also wanted him to have a little bit of a baby face. Really, there’s no one else I could choose for him besides Taecyeon, who’s both super hot and super cute. And really, he’s perfect for the character I would have chosen to date if I were Grace. ;-)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIxMP1JMyACbTrk7VFz7fMvcyOr5AyF26bJ9aJRSXd3L5zf8Oovd7mHZSEiGpu22HcxQHep1ChVqeASjCP8pMhL5P9GBIqwq4JP7qrcjYBQISbSkEukoqW122rTdvnvULRxlptUX9d_k/s1600/taehwa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIxMP1JMyACbTrk7VFz7fMvcyOr5AyF26bJ9aJRSXd3L5zf8Oovd7mHZSEiGpu22HcxQHep1ChVqeASjCP8pMhL5P9GBIqwq4JP7qrcjYBQISbSkEukoqW122rTdvnvULRxlptUX9d_k/s640/taehwa2.jpg" title="http://www.dkpopnews.net/2013/07/big-bangs-seungri-to-make-comeback.html" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Seungri is one of the hottest guys in KPOP, I think (despite his scandals). And I had to choose someone great for Sophie, who’s probably my favorite character in the whole book. Really, I maybe had too much fun looking for good pictures of him…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">About The Book</span></div>
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Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who's topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother's breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start. </div>
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She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie's twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol. </div>
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Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.</div>
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Katie M. Stout is from Atlanta, Georgia, and works for an international charity that sends her to fun places like Spain and Singapore. When she's not writing, you can find her drinking an unhealthy amount of chai tea and listening to Girls' Generation, Teen Top, and all her other favorite K-pop tunes.</div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-50282743743595163322015-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:002015-06-03T00:00:08.375-04:00Brutal Youth Paperback Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> “If you thought high school was hell, has Anthony Breznican got a story for you…Every bully who stalked you, every sadistic teacher who ever terrified you, every stupid prank, every hopeless crush and false friend: they’re all here…. By turns funny and terrifying, <i>Brutal Youth</i> is an unputdownable tour-de-force, a <i>Rebel Without a Cause</i> for the 21st century.” <br />
—<b>Stephen King</b><br />
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“With <i>Brutal Youth</i>, Anthony Breznican has captured high school life in all its gruesome, wild, survival-of-the-fittest lunacy. His portrait of teenagers—and the theoretical grown-ups who tend to them—is, by turns, painfully funny and painfully painful, but always sharp as a well-carved stick.”<br />
--<b>Gillian Flynn</b>, author of <i>Gone Girl</i><br />
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“crackling good entertainment: arresting from the first page to the last, full of plot twists, characters to root for (or against) and plenty of suspense…the stuff that page-turners are made of.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">−<i>USA Today</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlpq3QV_6XbhX6zxSQ18f1MDuV_rvxcLOrHMZHjFk3RoYIeNiMHMx1Cp1EORBQ5K4_-0yjQlqKNBncSn5I60fMfuQdIAGGxS4uAf0hwZQQGzglZhjC3S68oThXnHMWZpDS0k_qvbtvKc/s1600/Brutal+Youth+pbk+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlpq3QV_6XbhX6zxSQ18f1MDuV_rvxcLOrHMZHjFk3RoYIeNiMHMx1Cp1EORBQ5K4_-0yjQlqKNBncSn5I60fMfuQdIAGGxS4uAf0hwZQQGzglZhjC3S68oThXnHMWZpDS0k_qvbtvKc/s640/Brutal+Youth+pbk+cover.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Inspired by author Anthony Breznican’s own adolescence growing up in Western Pennsylvania in the early '90s, his debut novel BRUTAL YOUTH follows the lives of three freshmen at St. Michael’s, a troubled Catholic school that is literally and figuratively collapsing. It’s a haven for religious zealots fearful of public schools, as well as a dumping ground for violent delinquents who’ve been expelled from those same places of learning. With a declining reputation and plunging enrollment, “St. Mike’s” has no money to repair its ancient, crumbling building. As the desperate student population unleashes their aggression on newcomers, parents and teachers are little help, wrapped up in their own regrets and scandals, often making them less trustworthy than the kids they’re supposed to watch over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On his first day at St. Mikes, 14-year-old Peter Davidek comes face-to-face with a deranged upperclassman unleashing violence on his fellow students. While others flee, Davidek defies the cowering teachers and helps rescue a wounded student – a good deed that does not go unpunished. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He doesn’t face his ruthless freshman year alone. Davidek befriends the volatile Noah Stein, a classmate with a mysterious scar across his face—evidence of his love for starting (and finishing) fights, and Lorelei Pascal, a beautiful but lonely girl who is determined to be loved at her new school—no matter how many people she has to alienate along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Beyond the threat of bullying, the three also face Ms. Bromine, a disturbed guidance counselor who longs for her glory days as a once-popular student, and loathes those who’ve taken her place; a parish priest, Father Mercedes, who steals from the church finances and plots to scapegoat students for the shortfall; and a well-meaning but weak-willed nun, Sister Maria, who finds that being principal may require more ferocity than she can muster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A darkly comic coming of age tale, BRUTAL YOUTH is a story of good kids going bad, and best friends willing to do anything to protect each other.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Prologue: </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Boy on the Roof</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The kid had taken a lot of punishment over the years, so he had much to give back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">A steel hatch on the roof of St. Michael the Archangel High School shuddered, then burst open, and the boy crawled out and collapsed against the gritty tarpaper surface, kicking the lid shut again with one sock-covered foot. He wore only his uniform gray slacks and a wide-open button-down shirt, streaked with blood that wasn't his. A black canvas book bag hung over one shoulder, swinging back and forth as he scrambled to his knees. He pressed his weight against the closed hatch to stifle the hollering and pandemonium rising from beneath it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Next to the steel hatch was a bucket, steaming with hot tar. The janitor had been using it to seal sections of loose shingle that had been leaking water into the school during every springtime rainstorm. A grubby tar mop leaned against the bucket. The boy shifted his heavy bag and scooped up the mop, wedging it between the handles of the hatch, locking it shut. Then he fled back across the flat roof toward the ghostly concrete statues lining the edge.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The row of saints had stood watch over St. Michael's for as long as anyone alive could remember. Thomas, the doubter; Joseph, the foster father; Anthony, finder of lost things; Jude, devotee to the hopeless; Francis of Assisi, the lover of nature, who had a small concrete bird in his outstretched hand, and a real drip of birdshit on his concrete head. At the center archway of the ledge high above the school's main entrance stood an even larger statue of a warrior angel, St. Michael himself, wings spread and sword raised against the satanic serpent being squashed beneath his foot.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The boy on the roof was named Colin Vickler. Not that it mattered. This was the end. This was good-bye. There was nowhere else to hide.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">ANTHONY BREZNICAN was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. He has worked as a reporter for The Arizona Republic, Associated Press, and USA Today, and is currently a senior staff writer for Entertainment Weekly.</span></i></div>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-2946181237503509502015-05-10T00:00:00.000-04:002015-06-01T14:43:13.648-04:00Fat Girl Walking: Excerpt + Giveaway!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #ff3399; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">FAT GIRL WALKING: <i>Sex, Food, Love and Being Comfortable in Your Skin…Every Inch of It</i> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">by Brittany Gibbons</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); color: #ff3399;"><b>FAT GIRL WALKING</b></span>,<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); color: #ff3399;"><b> </b></span>Brittany—acclaimed blogger and body image advocate—shares the often funny and often painful true stories of her life as an overweight girl growing up in the Midwest. From coping with mental illness and obesity in her family, to her struggles with dating (it’s hard—no matter your size!), dealing with anxiety issues that forced her to drop out of college, falling in love, getting married, having three children, battling with bulimia, launching a successful writing career, and to finally getting the confidence to say goodbye to diets and body hating for good, Brittany’s new memoir is a soul-baring account of her quest to learn to love her shape.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Brittany admits that for all of the hobbies she has picked up and put down over the years, body hating has been her most dedicated and consistent. But when her young daughter started holding her stomach in the mirror and imitating her mom, she realized something needed to change. Brittany had no idea what to do first, only that she knew she had been ignoring all of the amazing things she had achieved in her life despite her size. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She began to change her perspective by making a pledge to tell herself three things she liked about her body every day, no matter how awkward it seemed. She bought clothes to actually fit her body shape—not the size on the label—and actively stopped glorifying women (in her head and in her writing) as “beautiful” only if they were also thin. That adjective became the last thing Brittany decided she would say to her daughter after brilliant, hilarious, curious, creative, and daring. Brittany also started to recognize that her <i>“flabby parts aren’t problem areas; they’re parts of a scrapbook” </i>a scrapbook that contains memories of places she’s been, meals she enjoyed with loved ones, and the amazing children she has had.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Soon, she took her new powerful outlook to Times Square and stripped down to her bathing suit for a national women’s body image campaign and then did it again during a TEDx Talk in 2011 on a journey to start changing the societal conversation about body image. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>“I saw this as a chance to become a point of reference and authority for plus-size women online…Plus-size people were often portrayed in society as villains. We affected your health-care costs with our diabetes and our heart attacks. We all wanted gastric bypass and lap-band surgery as an easy way out. We were eating all the fast food from the dollar menu. We were lazy, lacked self-control, and were unpleasant to look at. We were an epidemic.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Today on her successful blog, www.brittanyherself.com, fat shaming is all too real amongst the anonymity of the Internet. Instead of being beaten down by it, she’s come to realize that people are allowed to say whatever they want about her weight but it’s entirely up to her how much power she lets those words have. In <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); color: #ff3399;"><b>FAT GIRL WALKING</b></span>, Brittany wants readers to learn that despite our background, upbringing and thoughts we have about ourselves, we are ultimately in charge of providing the narrative for how other people perceive us. <i>“People treat me like a sexy and confident woman because I act like a sexy and confident woman; my behavior doesn’t give them any other options.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); color: #ff3399;"><b>FAT GIRL WALKING </b></span>is not a diet book. It’s not one of those memoirs about how someone battled, and won, the fight against fat. Instead, it is a book that reminds us all that being chubby doesn’t mean you’ll end up alone, unhappy, or the subject of a cable medical show. Learning to love your shape is the important step of learning to live a life of the same joy, heartbreak, oddity, awkwardness and wonder as anyone else’s. Just with better snacks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>BRITTANY GIBBONS</b> is a humorist, Internet personality, model and nationally recognized positive body image advocate. She began her blog <a href="http://www.brittanyherself.com/"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 99, 193); color: #0463c1;">www.BrittanyHerself.com</span></a> in 2007, and later founded the magazine, CurvyGirlGuide.com, and she hosts “Last Call Brittany,” a weekly Google talk show. She lives in Toledo, Ohio with her husband and three small children.</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(255, 51, 153); color: #ff3399; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Excerpt:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>My fitness and body aspirations at thirty are different from my aspirations at twenty. At twenty, I just assumed I’d work out until I was so tiny, people became concerned for my health and I’d roll my eyes at them from my Victoria’s Secret bras and Abercrombie jeans. Now I just want to maintain my current weight so I don’t need to buy new clothes. When you look at weight loss, it’s often clothing driven. Weddings, vacations, and high school reunions, all things you are supposed to be thin for. But what if you have a gorgeous wedding dress in your current size, loads of flattering bathing suits, and a killer pair of jeans? Starving myself has suddenly become a moot point. I have options; I’m no longer a fashion pariah. So where does that leave my weight? Well, unless I’m sitting atop you, what I weigh is really none of your business.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>I like to put good food in my mouth, and while I am aware of the calories I ingest, instead of cutting them I make them count. I have a full-on love affair with food, appreciating the different cultures and processes within it. In fact, I take entire vacations around eating. It’s how I remember where I’ve been; I’ve either eaten, thrown up, or started my period without the proper supplies there.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Beignets with my best friend in New Orleans. Too much rum on the beaches of Playa del Carmen on our second honeymoon. Orlando, Florida, the city of emergency men’s tube sock maxi-pads.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You see, these flabby parts aren’t problem areas; they’re parts of a scrapbook.</i></span><br />
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-28318900443262356832015-05-03T00:00:00.000-04:002015-05-03T00:00:06.188-04:00All the Rage: #ToTheGirls<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">BLOG TOUR: ALL THE RAGE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>ABOUT THE BOOK</i></span></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up. Nobody believed her the first time-and they certainly won't now-but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">All the Rage</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women in a culture that refuses to protect them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada, where she divides most of her time between a camera, a piano and a word processing program. She is also the author of <i>What Goes Around</i>, <i>This is Not a Test</i>, <i>Fall for Anything</i>, <i>Some Girls Are</i>, <i>Cracked Up to Be</i>, and <i>Please Remain Calm. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Tweet your advice #ToTheGirls!</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125002191X">Amazon </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-the-rage-courtney-summers/1119182775?ean=9781250021915">Barnes & Noble</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/All-Rage/Courtney-Summers/9781250021915?id=6229825482952">Books-A-Million</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250021915">IndieBound</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/all-the-rage/id921442373">iTunes</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Courtney_Summers_All_the_Rage?id=UyudBAAAQBAJ">Google Play</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/all-the-rage-12">Kobo</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://summerscourtney.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CourtneySummersAuthor">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/courtney_s">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://instagram.com/summerscourtney/">Instagram</a></span></span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-1371203921907735492015-03-29T00:00:00.001-04:002015-03-29T14:31:19.809-04:00RED: A Darker Shade of Magic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: red;">Originally posted on 3/13:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The hashtags for the tour are #ADSOM and #VintheLondons</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pY0p6DFkVo_2-ththTmpNm1pNbEu-lKvsJI0iBgiNKWPtWP52wMe11r9QltwvQZGBk8N8old8uDNBJD01F9BorOSXDH7bDXFe2VkZ8VUkZ6NgCL4WsgqHxhxh_uKwInZXz7djYBMxns/s1600/A+Darker+Shade+of+Magic+Blog+Tour+Button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pY0p6DFkVo_2-ththTmpNm1pNbEu-lKvsJI0iBgiNKWPtWP52wMe11r9QltwvQZGBk8N8old8uDNBJD01F9BorOSXDH7bDXFe2VkZ8VUkZ6NgCL4WsgqHxhxh_uKwInZXz7djYBMxns/s1600/A+Darker+Shade+of+Magic+Blog+Tour+Button.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Victoria has posted the entire tour schedule <a href="https://veschwab.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/announcing-the-digital-londons-tour/" target="_blank">here</a>! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5172DWWOTHgg-xP97M4HCGjaMVR4CzxolZrlLeAHmPRsUweqQXOL3HWDSWKgXOldW3gwL5cJTnEf01CAAkDiSpwZ2cIea1m4BvxrNfWFXT19hnwNgBfjH_2YxV9T3MNd2gp3LKkDhRoI/s1600/Gladstone+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5172DWWOTHgg-xP97M4HCGjaMVR4CzxolZrlLeAHmPRsUweqQXOL3HWDSWKgXOldW3gwL5cJTnEf01CAAkDiSpwZ2cIea1m4BvxrNfWFXT19hnwNgBfjH_2YxV9T3MNd2gp3LKkDhRoI/s1600/Gladstone+quote.jpg" height="396" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">V.E. Schwab on feminism & writing:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">G.C.: Do you consider yourself a feminist writer, or any of your books particularly pro-feminist works?<u></u><u></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">V.E.S: I consider myself a feminist and a writer, and yes, I am a feminist writer. I like to think that permeates what I write, in some ways obvious, and others subtle. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">While I can understand the argument some authors pose for writing ostensibly “weak” female characters, that is not something I aspire to do. I write women who are smart and strong, often to a fault. I try to write powerful women, women with agency, and no, that doesn’t mean I wrote women who are perfect or whole. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">In fact, I’m fascinated by the IDEA of strength, and the ways in which “strong” people of all genders can be cracked and broken and weak in other ways. I particularly enjoy writing “masculine” female characters, and “feminine” male characters, and everything between. I do not believe <i>people</i> are binary, a set of yes’s or no’s, and I don’t want to represent <i>characters</i> that way, either.</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: large;">Here in RED LONDON we've got a few more exciting features:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.darker-shade.com/" target="_blank"><span class="il">Darker</span>-<span class="il">Shade</span>.com</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"> </span>- a special website for A <span class="il">DARKER</span> <span class="il">SHADE</span> OF MAGIC that is full of information and materials for readers.<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: large;">A <b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEnDX2xnegA" target="_blank">video</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"> </span>featuring V. E. Schwab exploring <span class="il">London</span> and discussing the book.<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: large;">A fun <b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/miriambard/which-london-do-you-actually-belong-in-1bod4" target="_blank">Buzzfeed Quiz</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"> </span>you and your readers can take that will sort you into a magical <span class="il">London</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765376459" target="_blank"><b>A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC</b></a><b><u></u><u></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Sale February 24, 2015<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">V. E. SCHWAB's first adult novel, Vicious, debuted to critical praise and reader accolades. Schwab is the author of YA novels The Near Witch, The Archived, and The Unbound, and the Everyday Angel series for middle grade readers.</span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-54998368298317401952015-03-27T00:00:00.002-04:002015-03-29T14:30:40.499-04:00Little Peach Blog Tour<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">What do you do if you're in trouble?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Question: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">GC: What can feminists and other activists do to solve the problems presented in Little Peach?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">PK: This is a hard question – it’s THE question - and I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer it. It’s frustrating because the issues are so large: poverty, economics, racism, sexism, apathy. It takes a whole society to create the conditions that crush girls like Peach, along with their entire communities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I want to say that “awareness” is a starting point – and it is, I suppose – but awareness doesn’t save lives. Awareness doesn’t give victims a safe place to go. Awareness doesn’t rescue anybody.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So. My first suggestion is to find non-profits like GEMS that are on the ground, fighting for victims. Ask them what they need from you, and give as much as you can. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Also, talk about these girls. Don’t forget about them. And – to your great question about what feminists can do – give your copy of Peach to a guy! The guys need to understand what’s happening. Feminists – us girls, however we define ourselves - are fighting multiple battles on multiple fronts – as we need to, unfortunately. In the case of sex trafficking, men are the clients. Men are the pimps. Men are (predominantly) law enforcement and the penal system. Maybe, if young men can see these girls as sisters, as friends, as classmates – if they can grieve for Peach like we do – we might be on to something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally, here’s a real-world action to consider. It’s a promise I made to myself after learning all I did from the women I interviewed for the book:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I’m ever selected for a jury, and the defendant is charged with the crime of prostitution - or a related drug offense - I will vote to acquit her, regardless of the evidence. The technical term for this is “Jury Nullification.” As American citizens, it is our right – our moral duty – to stand up and say, I will not enforce a law if I feel it is being unjustly applied.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So many of the women who end up incarcerated for prostitution, began that life as trafficked kids. I will not criminalize them for the agony of their lives, for the choices we took away from them as a society. Maybe if enough of us refuse to participate in jailing these women, those in power will take notice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It’s not enough. But it’s a start. It’s a way to stand up, as citizens, and say No More.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">About Peggy Kern:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Peggy Kern has written two books for the Bluford High Series. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She lives with her daughter in Massachusetts.</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-38291714063789191802015-03-26T00:00:00.000-04:002015-03-30T15:34:03.850-04:00UPDATED: Fifth Avenue Fidos<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">
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<img class="CToWUd" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhFyxmfDLvEBBOBSpWJ6edkZzZp6hcaCL6WJ0hFD_jrVA-lTA7LabMEHX83jwFyCzIxMWVkVOtcSIjeIyMIGPeP7LkQXkZtysg_jpi6wIhKPcSoUv79E76ehfgjlTqmioaTy7oTL8QmvoKZpNLkkzvWuknr2iSPVMzze4lrGyinqiH9bAFpDrp8L8Xtoz3zWIAWZfjsM7FO4B8zyrvZmd7sS6rypKAT4IdK2tLhyphenhyphen_QtR_pdcfCwXaeKtw=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 10px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); display: block; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px; outline: none; width: 640px;" width="640" /><span style="color: white;">I'm delighted to announce that FIFTH AVENUE FIDOS, my first contemporary, comedic adult novel, has an updated cover and jacket copy:<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><strong>Once upon a time, in a magical metropolitan kingdom...OR: When a mutt from Queens meets a purebred Upper East Side New Yorker, it takes man's--and woman's--best friend to convince them what they feel is more than puppy love.</strong><br /> </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Mable Barker, a hilarious, good-natured sweetheart who is always the pal but never the girlfriend, endures nine horrendous months of bouncing between lackluster jobs in Manhattan (and suffering unrequited love) in her unsuccessful attempt to find her one true talent. So when she meets Innis, the ill-tempered Fifth Avenue Pekingese, she assumes her dog-walking days are numbered, too; soon, she'll be heading back to Queens brokenhearted, tail tucked between her legs. But Innis belongs to the adorable yet painfully shy young veterinarian, Jason Mead, a man whose awkward ways around women have him dreaming not of finding love for himself but of playing canine matchmaker--breeding Westminster champions.<br /><br />When Mable and Jason meet, romance is officially unleashed: they find an instant connection and shared goal, as it appears that Mable could very well have what it takes to be a professional handler, soon to be seen holding Innis under a banner labeled, "Best in Show." As Jason and Mable get closer to putting a new twist on the term "dog lovers," outside forces--Mable's overprotective brothers, a successful wedding planner with her eye on Jason, even the theft of purebred pups from Jason's Fifth Avenue apartment building--all threaten to come between them. Will Mable and Jason simply let their burgeoning love roll over and play dead? Or will they rally to make sure Innis emerges as the leader of the pack?<br /><br />Brimming with humor and endearing characters, FIFTH AVENUE FIDOS offers more than a simple, sweet romance. Conventions of love stories and fairy tales merge to illustrate that each modern-day princess has her own happily ever after--with a prince, another princess, a four-legged furball, or a brachycephalic dragon...Schindler weaves a heartwarming story about the loves that help us realize our dreams, and vice versa, about the dreams that bring us to our lives' most powerful loves.</span><hr />
<span style="color: white;">FIFTH AVENUE FIDOS is now available for purchase on <a href="http://mail01.tinyletterapp.com/hollyschindler/fifth-avenue-fidos-updated-cover-kindle-programs/2368389-www.amazon.com/fifth-avenue-fidos-modern-day-fairy-ebook/dp/b00uci9ed4/ref-asap_bc?c=b2305a7c-c0ec-4e99-bc9d-7dfa6a8cfdc7" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. It can also be read via the Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners' Lending Library programs.</span><hr />
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<span style="color: white;"><strong>Forthcoming:</strong><br />I'm currently writing PLAY IT AGAIN, the sequel to my YA romance, PLAY IT HURT. The release date will be announced through my newsletter. I'm so excited about getting to hang out with Chelsea and Clint again--and I can't wait to get the book into your hands!</span><img class="CToWUd a6T" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjK9iQQ_iL7KOv2kuwcOC-hzO-mOteRMGYXhvDa_xGz3kWIjIXiX9wgpp_KFljqsqKXDwnHtUFzN9a65aoWgUqsEKFxYcjkCYJ0jUU1BgJjucSauScGQgtO0LeCPPnafwfCkWGM88RF3p7aW6IC7j3Nb7rFpfhn6c22SQrnlUAT38jCatVnxusPbzuPTtgdP8bpDR2lGyng753JTvquOHJEl9cqvufV4LSfuyDhgCWdR-Wo0ii96yDZRQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 10px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 304px; outline: none; width: 304px;" tabindex="0" width="304" /></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-78230581083502015732015-03-17T00:00:00.000-04:002015-03-17T00:00:06.670-04:00Giveaway Blog Hop: Are You Feeling Lucky?<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><strike>Kiss Me</strike> Win Books From Me, I'm Irish!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Happy St. Patrick's day, one and all; let's celebrate Ol' Paddy driving the snakes from the Emerald Isle by keeping YA weird!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And, in the spirit of all that is Irish, let's grab a drink together...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy reading and Sláinte</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-74400381421696730332015-02-23T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-25T11:02:50.691-05:00Blog Tour: The Boy Who Lost Fairyland + GIVEAWAY! <div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>The Fairyland series is headed in an exciting direction! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A young troll named Hawthorn is stolen from Fairyland by the Golden Wind, and becomes a changeling in our world, a place no less bizarre than Fairyland in his eyes. Left with a human family in Chicago, Hawthorn struggles with his troll nature and his changeling fate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When he turns twelve, he stumbles upon a way back home, to a Fairyland changed. An Endless Summer lies upon the land; powerful Fairies want to claim the world again—and rumors fly through the capital that ancient King Goldmouth is awakening with a terrible hunger. Hawthorn finds himself at the center of a changeling revolution—until he comes face to face with a beautiful young Scientiste with very large and ungainly feet and a mole on her left cheek, and a very big, very red assistant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherynne M. Valente is the author of over a dozen books of fiction and poetry. She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with her husband, two dogs, and an enormous cat. Visit her online at catherynnemvalente.com or on Twitter at @catvalente.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ana Juan is a world-renowned illustrator best known in this country for her wonderful New Yorker magazine covers. She lives in Spain. Visit her online at anajuan.net.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://mackidsbooks.com/the-boy-who-lost-fairyland-blog-tour/"><b>Follow the Tour!</b></a></span></div>
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-17769310423327244562015-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-24T18:23:18.288-05:00Kalahari Safari: Joey's Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to my stop on the Kalahari Safari! If you’re new to the Safari, check in at Base Camp to learn what it’s about and how you can win!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the Author:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">THE KALAHARI</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When sketching ideas for a new story, one of my favorite first steps is choosing the setting. For Origin, it was the Amazon rainforest. For Vitro, it was a tropical island in the South Pacific. Approaching the third Corpus book, I knew its setting had to be equally compelling and remote, and ideally, a place I knew nothing about—because half the fun of writing a story there (much like the fun of reading it) is getting to learn about someplace new.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The first mention I’d ever heard of the Kalahari desert was in the 80’s comedy classic The Gods Must Be Crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I was listing ideas for the setting of the story that would become Kalahari, I saw this DVD sitting on my shelf and thought “I wonder…” I dove into some cursory research to be sure it matched the criteria I had (remote location, dangerous wildlife, could I imagine a secret lab hidden there?, etc.), and was soon entirely obsessed. I had my setting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next step? Lots and lots of research. I knew practically nothing about the area, and the movie was notorious for sneaking in completely bonkers “facts” (like rhinoceroses who stamp out fires—um, nope!) so I immediately bought a stack of books about the region and got busy reading up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So now I had a lot of factual information and cool stories in my research file, but there was still something missing that was preventing me from starting the book. I still didn’t really feel the Kalahari. I didn’t know how to describe waking up there on your first morning in the bush, or what sort of things you’d hear late at night. I wanted a sense of the size and colors and sounds—sensations I needed to experience myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And so I booked a ticket to Botswana, and with equal measures of excitement and trepidation, flew in a tiny single prop Cessna deep into the central Kalahari—a region called Deception Valley, to be specific, chosen because it was the location where zoologists Mark and Delia Owens (authors of Cry of the Kalahari) originally planted their base camp. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What I saw and experienced there became integral to the story itself; there are few pages in the book which don’t include descriptions taken from the journal I kept each day while exploring the Kalahari. And beyond just seeing and feeling the land and its wildlife, I was able to meet and talk to its people—South Africans who had made their home there, Naro guides whose ancestors had roamed the Kalahari for thousands of years, pilots who flew over it every day. And that’s where my real research began—listening to the ones who knew the Kalahari best, asking questions, and leaving every expectation at the airport. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(Me with my husband—my intrepid travel buddy!—and our guides Jacobus and Tsota, on our last day in the Kalahari.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Complete the challenges below (the more you complete the higher your chances of winning a big prize!) and then head back to Base Camp and on to the next challenge!</span><br />
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Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-22418781634302099952015-02-18T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-18T00:00:03.491-05:00Cover Reveal: Beckon Me by Cindy Thomas<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24579317-beckon-me?ac=1" target="_blank">BECKON ME by Cindy Thomas</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> Available April 13, 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Everything nineteen-year-old Karina Mitchell knows about death changes the instant that she and her best friend, Rainey, are shot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For one, souls don’t die. They cross over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Only, Rainey’s soul hasn’t, and her ghost is hell bent on haunting Karina.
When Karina begins her sophomore year of college and moves into the apartment that she was supposed to share with Rainey, she learns a few shocking truths from her mysterious and gorgeous blue-eyed neighbor, Eli. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> One: Karina has been chosen to become a Beckoner—an immortal conduit of the dead who helps safely guide souls to the other side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Two<em>: She’s</em> the reason that Rainey’s soul can’t cross over—Rainey followed her back from death and missed her window to be at peace.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Three: Eli is hot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As in swoon-worthy, to-die-for, will-make-you-forget-yourself hot. And it turns out, Eli is a Beckoner, too.
Despite her attraction to Eli, the decision to become a Beckoner isn’t an easy one—it would mean giving up her own mortality … her own <em>soul</em>. But if she doesn’t, her best friend will be left to suffer an eternity at the hands of the evil Ceptors, dark creatures that feed on the souls left behind. After all, it’s her fault Rainey is haunting her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Time is running out, and Karina needs to decide: Are love and loyalty worth sacrificing her soul? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> BECKON ME is a dark but sweet NA paranormal romance for both NA and upper YA readers, ages 16 and up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Ava</strong></span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ilable April 13, 2015</strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beckon-Me-Beckoner-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B00TKRR1CY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424138797&sr=8-1&keywords=beckon+me" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Pre-Order BECKON ME on Amazon</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24579317-beckon-me?ac=1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Add BECKON ME to Goodreads</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"></span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About the Author:</strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cindy has dreamed of being an author since third grade when she won a writing contest for a story she wrote about her deceased great aunt. She hasn’t been able to ignore that dream since and chooses to spend most of her free time listening to the voices in her head and writing their stories.
Outside of her writing and working for Spencer Hill Press, Cindy is happily married and has three young boys. She lives in PA, but was born and raised in NC. Even though she’s lived in the northern half of the US for ten years, she still very much misses grits for breakfast and every now and then goes on a country music binge.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> You can find her online in these places: </span></div>
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<strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.cindythomasbooks.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.cindythomasbooks.com" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="http://www.cindythomasbooks.com/subscribe/" target="_blank">Newsletter</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/CindyisWriting" target="_blank">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008423508535" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12964351.Cindy_Thomas" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </strong></span></div>
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</span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">P.S. Sign up for Cindy's newsletter and you'll receive the first four chapters of BECKON ME for free!</strong></span></div>
Gabrielle Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18214229922978591322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5908017075262243161.post-9423492563530134042015-02-04T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-04T12:47:35.795-05:00Blog Hop Giveaway: Romance is in the Air! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One of the most prominent news magazines in the U.S., <i>TIME magazine,</i> has declared we are living in a “golden age” of children’s and young adult books. A claim supported by ongoing sales reports that books for young readers and teens continue to dominate the bestseller charts and lead industry growth as they find wide audiences beyond their intended age demographics.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">TIME magazine recently published their lists of <a href="http://time.com/100-best-young-adult-books/">Top 100 Young Adult</a> & <a href="http://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/">Top 100 Children’s Books </a>of All Time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Candlewick Press has 6 titles on the Young Adult list and I’d like to offer you 1 complete set of these books!<u></u></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The prize pack will include paperback copies of <b><i>The Tiger Rising</i></b><i> </i>and <b><i>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane</i></b>both by Kate DiCamillo, <b><i>A Monster Calls</i> </b>by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, <b><i>The Knife of Never Letting Go</i></b><i> </i>by Patrick Ness, <b><i>Feed </i></b>by M.T. Anderson and <b><i>Boy Proof</i></b> by Cecil Castellucci. We will handle shipping the prize pack to your winner.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><b>Enter to win below:</b></span></div>
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