[Wavecrossed by Andrea Colt] Blog Tour: Guest Post

Thanks to my blogger friend, Dianne from Oops! I Read a Book Again for organizing the Wavecrossed tour. You guys seriously need to go and sign up for blog tours there, especially if you're into YA indie. Anyway, for today's stop, I have a guest post for you guys:

Dedicated To ...

Between a novel’s cover page and “Chapter 1” is a page that I never paid attention to until I started writing: the dedication page. As an author, the person to whom a novel is dedicated fascinates me. Why that person for this novel? Is it the author’s spouse, children, a friend who cheered the author on? I’ll always flip to the back of the book to see if the author explains in the acknowledgments.

For Wavecrossed, there were lots of people I could dedicate the novel to. My mom, who has always supported my dreams; my dad, who passed away when I was in high school but who always made a point of telling me and my sister how capable and smart we were; my friend who has liked Wavecrossed from its first, very different rough draft and throughout every single transformation it’s gone through.

As it turned out, however, there was one family member I’d forgotten about: my cat Winston.

I often referred to Winston as my muse because he would sit on the arm of my chair as I wrote. He’d stretch his head towards my hand as I was typing, hoping I’d pet him, and sometimes he’d fall into my lap. I’ve been working on Wavecrossed in various forms for years, and throughout every draft Winston, with his gorgeous green eyes and an emphatic “Mrow!” when I was wrestling with plot problems, was always there.

Until, suddenly, he wasn’t. He was only six years old this summer when he began to rapidly lose weight and strength, and the diagnosis from the vet and the radiologist was heartbreaking: lymphoma. He passed away less than a week after diagnosis. I won’t go into how awful those couple of weeks were, but pet owners will understand.

Winston (and our other cat, Havarti) kept me from being lonely while my fiancé was deployed in Afghanistan a couple years ago. He made me so mad yowling for breakfast, always 20 minutes before my alarm was to go off (one of his special gifts, lol), but he was impossible to stay angry with. He had the softest fur I’ve ever felt, and when he wasn’t watching me write, he was cuddled next to me on the couch as we watched TV at night. He and I episode-binged our way through Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer together.

I was working on final edits for Wavecrossed when Winston passed away, and it was difficult finishing up without him perched on the arm of my writing chair. Despite our heartache, my husband and I are grateful to have had the time with Winston that we did. And so, when it came time to dedicate the novel, the choice was easy.

I know this post got a little heavy--sorry about that! But Winston would not want anyone to be sad (he’d lick your feet until you felt better, because he was very strange!), so tell me: if you wrote (or have written) a book, what would/did the dedication read?

Book Description:

Title: Wavecrossed
Author: Andrea Colt
Date of Publication: August 22, 2013
Genre: paranormal YA

A young-adult paranormal novel about selkies, tasers, kissing and secrets.

To Cassandra Kelleher, trust is a dirty word.

A teenage selkie who grew up on land, all she wants is to free her family from the man who stole their sealskins long ago. With her twin brother Brennan losing hope and her window of opportunity disappearing like the beach at high tide, she’ll try anything.

Before long, however, Cassandra can’t tell whether her biggest threat is the man holding her family captive, a classmate who’s discovered her secret, or her own paranoia. Battling broken friendships and alarming romantic entanglements, Cassandra finds that trust could be the key to winning her family’s freedom … or losing her own.

Goodreads

Andrea Colt grew up reading and squabbling with her identical twin. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, a fridge full of cheese, and two feline muses.

Follow Andrea:
Website
Twitter
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Guest Post on World Building +International Giveaway: Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

Hi guys! Today I'm featuring an author from UK who wrote one of my most favorite science fiction novels in the history of history: Earth Girl. Her story world is stunning, vibrant, and easy to fall inlove with. If you're an aspiring writer, take this chance to learn from Janet about world building:

World Building - Welcome to 28th Century Earth

Janet Edwards lives in England. As a child, she read everything she could get her hands on, including a huge amount of science fiction and fantasy. She studied Maths at Oxford, and went on to suffer years of writing unbearably complicated technical documents before deciding to write something that was fun for a change. She has a husband, a son, a lot of books, and an aversion to housework.

Follow Janet: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Book Description:

Paperback, 358 pages
August 16, 2012, Harper Voyager

A sensational YA science fiction debut from an exciting new British author. Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

Book Description:

Paperback, 374 pages
August 17, 2013, Harper Voyager

Sequel to Earth Girl.

18-year-old Jarra has a lot to prove. After being awarded one of the military’s highest honours for her role in a daring rescue attempt, Jarra finds herself – and her Ape status – in the spotlight. Jarra is one of the unlucky few born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Derided as an ‘ape’ – a ‘throwback’ – by the rest of the universe, Jarra is on a mission to prove that Earth Girls are just as good as anyone else.

Except now the planet she loves is under threat by what could be humanity’s first ever alien contact. Jarra’s bravery – and specialist knowledge – will once again be at the centre of the maelstrom, but will the rest of the universe consider Earth worth fighting for?

What's up for grabs? A paperback of Earth Girl. I know it's hard to get your hands on this one since it's only available in the UK for now - it will be released in US soon - so this is your chance. :) Correction: Earth Girl is now out in the US, since March.

Open internationally!
You should be at least 13 years old.

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Guest Post by Shandy Lawson + The Loop Giveaways - International!

Hi everyone! For today, I've got a guest post from Shandy Lawson for the monthly time travel wrap-up and feature. Stick around for three giveaways. :)

Rules for The Loop by Shandy Lawson

Book Description:

Hardcover, 208 pages
April 30th 2013, Hyperion

Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate’s clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie’s only shot at not dying is surviving apart?

About the Author:

Shandy Lawson's "day jobs" have ranged from making wine recommendations to being a machinist, a dispatcher in an auto repair garage, a philosophy tutor at a local college, and a stone mason. Creatively, he put most of his energy into a career as a performing songwriter before turning his focus to writing fiction. Shandy lives and works n New York City. The Loop is his first novel.

Follow Shandy: Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook


The Loop Giveaways
Because Dianne and I really love The Loop - reviews to come! - we decided to have 3 giveaways so everyone can enter: The first is for US/CA residents, the second is for PH residents and the last is for International readers!

For US/CA Residents:

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For PH Residents:

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For International Readers:

Note: We are really, really, really - sincerely - sorry for the trouble and confusion, our dear readers. My fellow blogger just found out that as of the moment, there is no Kindle available for The Loop. We decided to close this international giveaway immediately so as to prevent more people from entering it when the prize still doesn't exist. *coughs* as of the moment. :( Sorry!

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Character Guest Post by Emma + Giveaway: A Touch of Scarlet by Eve Marie Mont

Hi everyone! For today, we're doing something a little different. Instead of an author guest post, we'll have a character guest post. Eve has handed over her guest post responsibilities to Emma Townsend, the protagonist of her debut novel, A Breath of Eyre and A Touch of Scarlet. Here, Emma discusses why fictional men are better than real boys:

Character Guest Post by Emma

About the Author:

Eve teaches high school English and Creative Writing in the Philadelphia suburbs and sponsors her school’s literary magazine. When not grading papers or writing, Eve can be found watching the Phillies, playing with her shelter pup, or daydreaming about her next story.

Follow Eve: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Paperback, 319 pages
March 26, 2013, K-Teen

The compelling heroine of Eve Marie Mont’s novel A Breath of Eyre returns to find truth and fiction merging through the pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter…

Emma Townsend is back at prestigious Lockwood Prep, but her world has altered immeasurably since her tumultuous sophomore year. The best change of all: her boyfriend, Gray. And though Gray is leaving for Coast Guard training, Emma feels newly optimistic, even if the pain of her mother’s long-ago death still casts a shadow.

Yet Emma isn’t the only one who’s changed. Her friend and roommate, Michelle, is strangely remote, and old alliances are shifting in disconcerting ways. Soon Emma’s long-distance relationship with Gray is straining under the pressure, and Emma wonders if she’s cracking too. How else to explain the vivid dreams of Hester Prynne she’s been having since she started reading The Scarlet Letter? Or the way she’s found herself waking in the woods? As her life begins to echo events in the novel, Emma will be forced to choose between virtue and love. But can she forge a new future without breaking her heart?

Giveaway

Thanks to Eve, I've got one finished copy of A Touch of Scarlet up for grabs for you!

Rules:
Be a follower.
Open to US residents - but if you have a US addy to send the prize to, why not?
You should be at least 13 years old.

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Guest Post: Facades and the Truth by Jade Kerrion

Hi guys! As part of the Earth Sim blog tour, I have a guest post by Jade Kerrion:

Facades and the Truth

About the Author:

Jade Kerrion unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. Perfection Unleashed and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, have been described as “a breakout piece of science fiction” and drawn rave reviews for their originality and vision. Her novel, When the Silence Ends, is a Young Adult spinoff the Double Helix series. She is also the author of Earth-Sim, a whimsical and compelling view of Earth’s history through the eyes of the two students assigned to manage our planet.

Follow Jade: Blog | Facebook | Twitter

About the Novel:

What reviewers are saying: 5 Stars! “What a fantastic book by Jade Kerrion, it grabbed me from the very first page...Ms Kerrion's writing is exciting and well paced to keep you wanting to know more…”

Jem Moran has a reputation to prove and a secret to protect. The prestigious world simulation program seems the answer to both her problems, but only if she can succeed in spite of her partner, Kir Davos, and the uncooperative human beings who populate her planet. From the Great Extinction to the Renaissance, from world wars to intergalactic treaties, Jem’s conflict with Kir will shape Earth’s history, and their opposing management styles will either save or doom our planet. Either way, you finally have someone to blame for the shape our world is in.

Buy Earth Sim: Paperback | Ebook

Guest post: World Building by Liesel K. Hill [Persistence of Vision Blog Tour]

As part of the Persistence of Vision blog tour, Liesel Hill wrote a guest post about World Building. I was supposed to post this yesterday - unfortunately, I fell asleep.

Guest Post--Downright Dystopian(1).docx

About the book:

In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

Buy on Amazon!

Follow Liesel: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Blog

Guest Post: Love Crimes + Giveaway: Robin in the Hood by Diane J. Reed

Hi everyone! So it's the month of love. To celebrate Valentine's Day, I have Diane J. Reed. She will talk about Love Crimes and her book, Robin in the Hood (YA). Stick around for an awesome giveaway!

Because I liked how the guest post was written (and formatted), I decided to just upload it and embed it here so everyone could see.

Love Crimes by

Paperback, 300 pages
October 14, 2012, Bandits Ranch

“Is it any wonder I became a bank robber?” said Robin.
But she never dreamed she’d fall in love…

15-year-old Robin McArthur thinks she has it all figured out when it comes to bilking her wealthy dad for guilt money as a substitute for his genuine affection. Until one day he suffers a stroke, and she learns the brutal truth.

They’re broke.
And everyone from bankers to bookies has lined up in her dad’s hospital room to collect.
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His only saving grace is what he reveals to Robin in between drools: He truly does love her, in spite of all his mistakes.

Panicked and desperate, Robin figures she has two choices. Either surrender to the pestering caseworker and live in a skanky foster home, or take a chance and sneak her dad out of the hospital to make a run for it. Little does she know that stealing a car and hitting the road means that before the day is through, she will rob her first bank.

Now an outlaw, Robin finds a backwoods trailer park to hide her dad from authorities. There, she encounters Creek, a local bad boy who also commits crimes to provide for their motley neighbors. Realizing she could use Creek’s help, Robin proposes an ingenious plan—they should team up to rob banks together. But when their partnership leads to a romance that turns Robin’s whole world upside down, she soon begins to discover that people are more precious than pocketbooks, and real love means opening your heart to the kinds of treasures money can’t buy . . .

Buy Robin in the Hood on Amazon

About the Author:

She was the kind of teenager who snuck out of church camp with the cutest boy she could find and hitchhiked down the road to play billiards at the local pool hall, then made out on the beach. But given the fact that her brother blew up his room at 16 and there were bullet holes in our windows (her brothers were a bit rowdy), the pool hall incident hardly got a rise out of her parents. Since that time, she managed to earn a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing, teach juvenile delinquents and college students, and work in crisis intervention for the homeless and mentally ill. Some of the people she met on the street became her best friends. Most of them died young, and she misses them.

Follow Diane: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Giveaway: Robin in the Hood Prize Pack

So what will you win? A LOT. I mean it! Thanks to Dianne, one of you will win these goodies (below) and then two readers will win a paperback/ebook of Robin in the Hood! This is open internationally, so don't hesitate.

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Guest Post: TimeRiders Agency Guidelines by Alex Scarrow [Time Travel Feature]

Time travel enthusiasts, if you're interested in finding out more about time travel - beyond the book, I mean - then this is the perfect post for you. Alex Scarrow, the author of the TimeRiders series will reveal top sekrit info aka the TimeRiders Agency Guidelines.

TimeRiders Agency Guidelines

Rules of conduct:

Contamination Awareness:
Operatives must remain aware of the constant danger of affecting the timeline. The smallest alteration of the past can lead to a substantial and hazardous change to the present. Every possible measure must be taken to avoid this. The following guidelines are designed to minimize potential risk.

Source: MichelleZinBooks

1. Clothing: when going back in time it is important to be wearing clothing that fits into the given time period. If suitable clothing cannot be obtained prior to entering the time portal, then the operative must travel back with no clothing at all and must attempt to locate suitable attire in the target location.

2. Language: it is important that the operative can communicate with people in the target location. The operative should familiarise themselves with period nuances of the language. If the operative is unable to speak the target language, translator buds can be fitted in the ear. It should be stated that the translation AI may sometimes struggle with localised phrases or idioms, or extreme accents.

3. Knowledge: it is important that the operative is suitably briefed on the period of history he/shill be visiting. This includes knowledge of the political, economic and social situation. The accompanying Support Unit can also be utilized as a portable information base.

4. Interactions: the operative should restrict any actions to only those that lead towards correcting a contaminated timeline. As such, an operative should always look for the most minimal action to perform towards this end.

5. Outbound: any displacement window should be targeted at locations that are remote and unobserved. Research the location extensively before opening a displacement window using maps, documents and illustrations from the given time. The field office has an extensive database for this purpose. In some cases there will be insufficient research materials to review. It is possible to open a very small window in the past and 'remote view' the immediate surroundings.

Source: Photo-Dictionary

6. Return: the return window will usually be in the same location as the outbound window. The operative should clarify with the team strategist WHEN the return window is to be opened. The window should remain open for only very short periods so it is important for both operative and strategist to have synchronised time pieces and agreement on when the window will be opened. A back up window time should also be agreed. Typically this would be one hour later, one day later and one week later, in case the operative is delayed by unforeseen events.

The Pirate Kings (TimeRiders #7) by Alex Scarrow

Paperback, 416 pages
February 7th 2013, Puffin

Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history...

Relocated to Victorian London, the TimeRiders joy-ride back to 1666 to witness the Great Fire of London. In the ensuing chaos, Liam and their newest recruit, Rashim, find themselves trapped between the fire and the Thames. They escape onboard a river boat, only to be confronted by an unscrupulous captain with his heart set on treasures of the high seas ...

Back in 1888, Maddy and the rest of the team are frantically trying to track them down. But with limited resources at their new base, can Liam and Rashim survive the bloodthirsty and barbaric age of piracy long enough to be rescued?

About the Author:

Alex Scarrow used to be a rock guitarist, then he became a graphic artist, then he decided to be a computer-games designer. Finally, he grew up and became an author. He has written a number of successful thrillers and several screenplays, but it’s Young Adult fiction that has allowed him to really have fun with many of the really cool ideas and concepts he was playing around with when designing games.

He lives in Norwich with his family.

Follow Alex: Twitter | Website | Goodreads

Join the 2013 YA & MG Time Travel Reading Challenge!
hosted by Precious from Fragments of Life and Dianne from Oops! I Read a Book Again
365 days of time-bending [includes freebies, features + giveaways]

Guest Post: Magic vs. Steampunk by Stefan Bachmann + Giveaway

Hi everyone! The Peculiar Blog Tour (for the Philippines) is in full swing. If you’re still undecided whether you should pick up The Peculiar or not, this guest post might help you decide. The amazing and talented Stefan is here to talk about:

Magic vs. Steampunk

A guest post by Stefan Bachmann

So, as Kai mentioned in her awesome review (Thanks, Kai!), The Peculiar is a bit of a mash-up of Victorians and creepy faeries and steampunk. And while I researched Victorians a ton before writing the book, and read piles of European folklore, I had basically no clue about steampunk. I guess I still don't have much of a clue. I keep hearing how it's a whole way of life with rules and stuff, but for me it was just something I liked from Disney movies. Treasure Planet, Atlantis, The Great Mouse Detective. . . Who doesn't like those movies. ;) All I knew when I started the book was that I wanted clockwork gadgets, and smoky, industrial cities, because they were cool. 

Of course, that's not a very compelling reason and could have totally backfired, so about halfway through writing I realized I needed to really make it a necessary part of the world-building. Luckily, steampunk fits pretty well with the Victorian Era. Not so much with faeries, but I love the whole magic vs. mechanics thing. I also love the idea of two opposite worlds competing, so I decided England should be this kind of busy, coal-fueled world, and the faeries a wild, sinister, thorny people thrust into the middle of it. And the faeries don't like it there. At all. So battles and intrigues and all sorts of creepiness ensue. 

But the very first reason The Peculiar has steampunk in it was actually because my sister's friend PurpleCat made a clockwork bird and my sister bought it and gave it to me for Christmas one year. I thought it was so amazing it had to be in a book.  

So below is the original clockwork bird. That's how I imagined it in the book. The cover designer imagined it differently obviously, but that's ok. I think he did a great job, too.

Cool, no? Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks Precious for having me here, and if anyone's interested, you can read more about the different types of faeries in The Peculiar in this Faery Encyclopedia we made for my website. Bye! :)

Check out Stefan talking in Filipino:

Tour-wide Giveaway (This is an international giveaway and Philippines is just one of the five countries/regions involved!)

So there will be one winner of a signed hardcover from the Philippines! Plus a grand prize of a signed copy of The Peculiar and a Skype Chat with Stefan Bachmann!

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