Coming Your Way This Week...

Sorry i am late with this! A little thing called school got in my way. So, without any further delay here are the debut novels coming out this week!

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

Sixteen-year-old Jess Parker survives by staying invisible. After nine schools in ten years, she's come to terms with life as a perpetual new girl, neither popular nor outcast. At Mt. Sterling High, Jess gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret club of the most popular girls in school, where makeovers are the first order of official business. But there's more to being a Cindy than just reinventing yourself from the outside, a concept lost on Jess as she dives tiara-first into creating a hot new look.

With a date with her popular crush and a chance to finally fit in, Jess's life seems to be a perfect fairy tale. That is until the Wickeds--led by Jess's archenemy--begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers her new sisterhood is about much more than who rules Mt. Sterling High School. It's a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and the Cindys need Jess on special assignment. But when the mission threatens to destroy her new dream life, Jess is forced to choose between this dream realized and honoring the Sisterhood. What's a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn't want to wear it anymore?

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

Sixteen-Year-Old Celstia spends every summer with her family at the elite resort at Lake Conemaugh, a shimmering Allegheny Mountain reservoir held in place by an earthen dam. Tired of the society crowd, Celestia prefers to swim and fish with Peter, the hotel’s hired boy. It’s a friendship she must keep secret, and when companionship turns to romance, it’s a love that could get Celestia disowned. These affairs of the heart become all the more wrenching on a single, tragic day in May, 1889. After days of heavy rain, the dam fails, unleashing 20 million tons of water onto Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the valley below. The town where Peter lives with his father. The town where Celestia has just arrived to join him. This searing novel in poems explores a cross-class romance—and a tragic event in U. S. history.

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren’t just from the wrong side of the tracks—they’re from the wrong side of everything. Except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher, no one at their high school takes them seriously. Haberman calls them “gentlemen,” but everyone else ignores them—or, in Bones’s case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman.

Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams

When sisters Sadie and Zuzu Brooks move to Salt Lake City, they discover a secret room in the attic of their new house, with a sign that reads “Palace Beautiful” and containing an old journal. Along with their neighbor, dramatic Belladonna Desolation (real name: Kristin Smith), they take turns reading the story of a girl named Helen living during the flu epidemic of 1918. The journal ends with a tragedy that has a scary parallel to Sadie and Zuzu’s lives, and the girls become obsessed with finding out what happened to Helen after the journal ends. Did she survive the flu? Is she still alive somewhere? Or could her ghost be lurking in the nearby graveyard?

Sarah DeFord Williams has created a gripping read that covers two time periods, many fantastic characters, and a can’t-put-it-down ending, all with delightful, extraordinary prose.

In other news, don't forget to enter the contest to win I am not a Serial Killer! We have had some great entries and I want to see more!

I am not a Serial Killer Twitter Contest!!

That's right, I am giving away my (lightly used) copy of Dan Wells' Debut I am not a Serial Killer. However, I am not going to give extra entries for dissemination. This is a creative contest, so strut your stuff bloggers! It will be held in two places, the comments section of this post and twitter.

Rules

Finish this sentence, "You might be a serial killer if..." (Think Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck jokes).

Either comment here or tweet with the hash-tag #killercontest so I can find it.

The winner will be the person who made me laugh the hardest!

This contest will run for one week only, I will announce the winners on Friday April 16th.

You don't get any points for dissemination, but help a brother out and spread the word!

Have fun with it, be creative and I will post the top ten on the blog!

A Book Review of Dan Wells' I am not a Serial Killer

John Wayne Cleaver is not your average teenager. He grew up working in a morgue, is obsessed with serial killers, is a clinical sociopath, and adheres to a strict set of personally imposed rules meant to keep him from becoming a serial killer. Dan Wells kicks off this fast pace novel by opening at the scene of a bizarre homicide. John surmises that this could be the work of a serial killer, here is his own quiet town!

Wells had me enthralled and the blurb on the front, “unputdownable” holds true for the first third of the novel. Until we find out who the “serial Killer” really is. I don’t want to give away the twist, but suffice to say, you won’t see it coming. I’m a fan of plot twists but this novels reads like a “Dexter Morgan” type story a only to take a jump off the deep end into the super natural.

The book remains immensely entertaining and Wells’ writing is superb. His dark comedic voice won’t have you rolling on the floor, but you will love John Wayne Cleaver’s unique perspective on life. The problem lies with the transition to the supernatural. You will be left saying, “WTF mate?” still, Wells is an author to keep an eye on and I will be purchasing the next two books in this series.

Keep an eye out for the I am not a Serial Killer contest coming your way later today!

Jeff’s Debut Novel Awards*



*hold your cursor over the icon to get a description of the award or click on any of them to be referred to the award guide.

A twenty-two-year-old University student, Jeff is the founder and coeditor of The Debut Authors Blog. He is an aspiring author and a self-avowed bibliophile. Also, he is not above shameless self-promotion and talking in the third-person.

First Contact: An Interview with Christine Johnson

We have discovered life on a faraway planet! The government has decided to send representative emissaries from all walks of life on earth. You’ve been chosen represent authors! What is going through your mind?

Oh God what if there’s no chocolate and can I bring my own pillow and has John Green dropped dead he must have because that’s the only reason they’d be asking me. That’s what I’d be thinking, all in a rush with no punctuation.

Once I got over the initial freak-out, I’d be really excited and very nervous. For several reasons, on both counts. First and most practically, I’m not a very good traveler. I *adore* being in new places - I had a life-changing trip to Japan several years ago - but I’m horrible at the actual *travel* part of traveling. I don’t like the stress of catching flights and not knowing my way around and sleeping in a strange bed. But it’s always worth it in the end, for the amazing cool new things that happen in between that other stuff.

Beyond that, I’d be so excited to talk about authors and writing and what I think about all of that, but I’d certainly be feeling the pressure of speaking for all the other authors on earth. Not to mention that a misunderstanding could have serious intergalactic consequences, so I’d be weighing my every word!

Last minute Mick Jagger (chosen to represent rock stars) drops dead and they turn to you to find a replacement. You can pick anyone to go with you. Who do you pick and why?

Amanda Palmer. Hands down. And, quite frankly, I’d feel relieved that I was taking her and not Mick with me. Not only do I love her - and her first solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, has been the soundtrack for my work in the last couple of months - but I really believe she’s at the forefront of the rock movement right now. I think she knows - and could explain to the alien race - everything that Mick knows about rock ‘n’ roll, but she sees what’s coming next.

Plus, I think we’d have a hell of a fun time.

Thanks to new technology meals can now be made to fit in a tube but still taste exactly as they would if they had been cooked from scratch. Unfortunately it is expensive to make different meals so everyone only gets to pick one for the group to eat. What do you pick?

That’s a really, really hard question as I adore food. Limiting it to one is so tough! I’d probably give you a different answer tomorrow, but today, I’d say a particular lentil curry (Dahl Makhni) from my favorite local Indian restaurant, with some lovely basmati rice, a good garlicky naan bread, and a mango lassi on the side. I could eat that every day of the week, and be perfectly content.

The day of meeting the aliens is approaching! It is time for you to prepare an example of five books (other than yours) for you to share with them. What books do you pick?

Again, tooooough question. And again, one for which the answer changes daily. Today, though, I’d say THE BOOK THEIF by Markus Zusak for the brilliant prose, PAPER TOWNS by John Green for the humor and the genuine characters, BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett for the brilliant relationships, CORALINE by Neil Gaiman because it’s scary as hell, and TITHE by Holly Black because it’s a great story.

It turns out that the aliens hold written communication as the highest art form and immediately move to translate your work into their language. For now though they will be satisfied with a quick pitch. What do you tell them?

My first novel, CLAIRE DE LUNE, is about a sixteen-year-old girl who discovers, on her birthday, that she is a werewolf and that, contrary to popular belief, all werewolves are female.

Killing humans is forbidden by the code of the pack, but a rogue werewolf has been breaking that law, threatening the existence of Claire’s new pack. As the pack struggles to find and fight the rogue werewolf and Claire struggles with her lupine identity, her heart and her loyalties are torn in two. Claire must keep her new life a secret from even her best friend–and especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt…and with whom Claire is impossibly and undeniably falling in love.

On their home planet writers are treated like Kings. They ask what life is like for you being an author on earth. What do you say?

That writers mostly get treated like whatever *else* they are. So, a King who writes gets treated like a king, but a nanny who writes gets treated like a nanny, a scullery maid who writes gets treated like a scullery maid, and so on. Those who are lucky enough to make their living as writers are usually treated as though they live like Kings when in reality, most of them (that I know, anyway) live like regular people with regular jobs.

Which is better than it sounds, really. I feel like my job as a writer is to skulk around in the real world, digging up interested bits of humanity and washing them off and then putting them into a manuscript. It’s pretty hard to do that if you’re always being noticed and waited on. It seems like it would be almost impossible to skulk, as a King.

They offer you a place of honor on their faraway planet but you may never get to return home. How do you respond to the aliens? Careful, we wouldn’t want to upset our new friends!

Although I am honored by the offer, and appreciate the opportunity to visit with their most interesting race, I have two small children at home. And though I adore being a writer, being a mom is more important to me. So, with great regret, I would have to pass up the fabulous opportunity with which they presented me. Because I could never stand to leave my kids - not even for a place of honor among the aliens!

Thank you Christine for playing along! Make sure you check out Christine's book Claire de Lune out May 18th. Find out more about Christine at her website.

A Review of Paul Doiron's The Poacher's Son

Paul Doiron’s The Poacher’s Son is a chilling murder mystery set in rural Maine. The story gets off to a quick start when novice game warden Mike Bowditch receives mysterious message from his estranged father. Mike is informed that his father, a well known poacher, is considered the prime suspect in a double homicide with one of the victims being a cop. As a law enforcement officer, Mike is in position to have intimate access to the case. At first, he is alone in his efforts to prove his father’s innocence until he is joined, in an uneasy alliance, by a retired game warden, Charlie.

Mike’s frantic search for the evidence he needs to exonerate his father forces him to reevaluate his life as a game warden. Doiron offers his readers a unique blend of family strife, internal conflict, and intense action to make his debut an unforgettable journey through Maine’s rugged wilderness. Readers will love his enticing and realistically flawed characters who take them on an emotional roller-coaster they won’t be able to put down. With great characters and page-turning plot development, Doiron is an author to keep an eye on.

The only downside to the book was an extended and obnoxiously graphic sex scene between Mike and his ex-girlfriend. While the sex is necessary for the development of the plot, the in-depth description was not. I am by no means a prude, but it crossed the line for me. That being said, this novel was still a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

Jeff’s Debut Novel Awards*



*hold your cursor over the icon to get a description of the award or click on any of them to be referred to the award guide.

A twenty-two-year-old University student, Jeff is the founder and coeditor of The Debut Authors Blog. He is an aspiring author and a self-avowed bibliophile. Also, he is not above shameless self-promotion and talking in the third-person.

Coming Your Way This Week...

The Cost of Love
National security comes at a price.

Dean Dreiser learned that lesson long ago. Now domestic terrorists are testing a biological weapon in southern New Mexico, and Dean is forced to take a new partner--Dr. Lucinda Brown. Lucy is the leading expert in molecular biology, but she has no field experience. Separately they don’t stand a chance against what dominates the night skies of Roswell, New Mexico. Together they can do more than survive. They can do their jobs in spite of the scariest thing to crawl out of Roswell since 1947.

The terrorists are willing to kill thousands in order to trigger the fall of the two party system and usher in a new political dawn. Lucy tracks the genetic print of the weapon while Dean hunts the insurgents. As fate hurtles them across the desert toward a final showdown, Dean will be forced to decide between national security and Lucinda Brown. He knows which he has to choose and curses himself for hesitating. Dean Dreiser can’t afford The Cost of Love.

Fairy Tale Adventure Interview with Debut Author Shari Maurer

You are on a walk through a dark enchanted forest with one companion. Who do you take with you?

My brother, Scott. Somehow this suburban kid became an expert hiker and woods decipherer (is that a word?). I have the worst sense of direction so I'd probably wind up in the woods FOREVER. One of the greatest things I've learned in life is that you should surround yourself with people who have talents you lack.

In the forest you come to a large stone tower with no door and one window near the top. You hear beautiful singing coming from the window, and as you approach the singing stops and a long braid of hair is lowered to you. A little girl asks you to come up, but when you get there, you discover an old witch instead! Convince her to let you go.

I think I would talk with her and get to know her. My guess is she's lonely, as many older, more isolated people are and she just needs a little TLC and maybe someone to listen to her for a little while. Maybe I'd ask her about her childhood. I truly believe that inside every old witch is a little girl who wants to be loved.

Luckily for you, she is partial to authors and lets you go. Now, back in the forest a dwarf runs out from behind a tree and grabs the only copy of your WIP right out of your bag! Its impossible to catch him but he will let you go if you tell him something unusual about yourself. What do you tell him?

I can touch my nose with my tongue. It's not something I need to do often, but if it works here, then I'm glad it's finally useful.

After escaping the dwarf unscathed you come to a pond where you find a frog sitting on a rock. The frog tells you that if you kiss him he will turn into whatever famous author you want, who will then read your book! Which author do you choose?

Harper Lee, author of my favorite book of all time-To Kill a Mockingbird.

What does he/she say about your book?

I would hope that she would admire the strength of Emmi, my main character in Change of Heart, who is waiting for a heart transplant. And she'd enjoy the fact that Emmi's brother is named Jeremy and nicknamed Jem, just like Scout's brother in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Your author friend promptly turns back into a frog, and it is time for you to go. Next you come into a clearing where there are two geese. The goose on the left will give you one story idea every month that will be guaranteed to get published. The goose on the right will give you one story idea that is so amazing that you will go down in history as one of the greatest writers of all time, but its brilliance won’t be recognized until after you’ve died. Which goose do you pick?

It's an interesting question, given my admiration for Harper Lee, who might have selected the goose on the right. But I think I'd prefer the goose on the left. I love to write and would prefer to be more prolific and continue to have the privilege of being published. Though I have to say--one story idea a month might get overwhelming!

Your adventure in the forest is finally over and you arrive at home. Who is waiting for you?

My husband and my kids. And my guess is that they're hungry and ready for dinner, so adventure over and back to real life!

Shari Maurer 's debut novel Change of Heart comes out April 23rd. Find out more about Shari at her website and pre-order Change of Heart at Amazon.com.