Waiting On Wednesday: Starters

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

STARTERS by Lissa Price

There's two reasons why I'm choosing this one for my WoW this week.  Number 1 it just sounds awesome. With microchips going bad and being stuck in the life of someone else.  Plus it's dystopian.  Hells yeah.  :)   And the cover is REALLY eye catching.   The other reason is because we share the same German publisher. IVI. Piper's new crossover imprint. I def. can't wait to read this one.

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

What's your WoW?

Happy (real) Book Birthday: WHEN THE SEA IS RISING RED

Since I messed up last week and said THE SEA IS RISING RED came out LAST WEEK, I'm correcting that and announcing it TODAY instead. :) Which is it's TRUE birthday. :) So, again, HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, Cat Hellisen and WHEN THE SEA IS RISING RED.

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison

After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend Ilven kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it. 

And a quick announcement:  The winner of the YA Paranormal giveaway hop is:

Kimberly Costa

Congrats, Kimberly.  Email me at j.souders (AT) jasouders (DOT) com with your address and the book you want.  

Thanks again to everyone who participated.  

Young Adult Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop

And....it's another hop.  I couldn't pass this one up because the hop button was so cute and as celebration for making it past 1k followers on the blog and over 2k adds to goodreads of RENEGADE! Whee! So EXCITED!

This hop is sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and vvb32.  There are over 100 participating blogs in this one, so make sure to take a look at the linky list below and enter to win all those awesome prizes!


This one is simple, all you have to do is follow my blog and then enter through the rafflecopter widget below. The prize will be a YA paranormal book of your choice from book depository.  Simple, right?

That being said, if book depository delivers to your country, then you can enter, so yes, it's International. 

Waiting On Wednesday: Fair Coin

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: FAIR COIN by E.C. Meyers

This book just seems like such a unique idea that I can't help but be interested in it.  Besides, isn't that such an awesome cover?!

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

What's your WoW?  Make sure to leave a link in your comment so I can go check it out! :)

Happy Book Birthdays

Woot! We've got two more wonderful debuts arriving this week.  I'm so excited for them, as they both look awesome!  

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison

After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend Ilven kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it.  

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart--literally. 

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy Brie loved and lost--and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul...who just might hold the key to her forever after. 

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

Different, yet the same

Okay, so…I’ve started a new WIP.  I wrote a synopsis that’s fairly decent last week (read: sucks eggs. LOL), today and tomorrow I’ll spend writing my chapter by chapter outline, and hopefully I’ll start drafting it by the end of the week. 

My MC is as different from the one in RENEGADE as a tree is to a chicken.  They’re both living things, but there’s no way you’d mistake one from the other. And that’s my characters.  It’s actually amusing to me how different they are, but how similarly they started telling me their story!  It both started with them telling me the first sentence of the book.  I’m hoping that’s a good sign. LOL!

But they’re so different I’m a little worried that people won’t recognize the book as one of mine. 

But then, last night, my daughter was comparing our feet.  And I noticed how different they were.  Not just the size, but the entire structure.  She has dancer’s feet.  I most definetely don’t. But her nose is definitely mine.  Her ears. My husband. But her hair is mine.  I could go on and on about how different she is, yet how much the same. But that’s not the point. 

The point is that no matter how different she is from me, there’s always something I can point out that’s all me. And my characters are the same. No matter how different they are from each other, they’re written (i.e. created) by me. I’m sure people will see enough similarities in my style to know it’s from me. Just like people who see my daughter know she’s mine by her similarities to me.  

And that, to me, is how it's supposed to be. Each character I create should be different (no one wants to read about cookie cutter characters that are the same from book to book), but yet, they should be the same that they're recognizable as mine.

Another Anniversary

February is my absolute favorite month. It always has been. Even before it held any real meaning for me.  And as another trivia question answer, the 17th is my favorite number. I don't know why except to say it's just always been that way.

Now I have real reasons to <3 both of those things, because 15 years ago on this day (it was President's day, in case you care) was the day my now husband asked me out on our first date.  (Well, asking is probably too much, it was more of a I'd really like to go out with you and I'm not taking no for an answer. :P)

Three years later to the day, we got married. And now 12 years after that, we're still married. And happily. I think I love him more now than I did then.  :) Plus we have 2 fabulous kids.

Sure, we've had some rough times (read VERY rough), but we've always weathered through them. Together. We've always worked better as a team, then when we do things separately. And I was reminded of that this weekend, while trying to finish a project around the house.

My husband dropped a bit (an expensive bit) inside the wall (long story) and no matter how he tried to get it out himself, he couldn't. Even when our son tried to help, he couldn't get it out.  But when I helped (it took awhile) we managed to work as a team and get it out without broken fingers, egos, or the bit.  I'd say that was a job well done.

But, anyway, I digress. I just wanted to send out a shout-out to my awesome husband on one of the most important days of my life.

I love you, honey!  Thank you for 15 wonderful years. Here's to many, many more.

XOXO,

Jess

A few thank yous (and news)

I know I've been absent a lot from this blog lately, but it has been CRAZY around here.  Phew!  Especially this past month with two books having deadlines a week apart. 0.o But, I LOVE it. I wouldn't change a thing.

Anyway, onto the post!

Today marks the two year anniversary of when my agent (the fab Natalie Lakosil) offered representation! I am just as excited now as I was then to say she's my agent.  She's been awesome, even when I wanted to yank my hair of of my head and bang it's baldness against my desk (or a handy wall) repeatedly.

She's dealt with my impatience and insecurities without batting so much as an eyelash. And she never once made me feel like I was unimportant. In fact, most of the time, she's made me feel like I was her only client, which obviously isn't true.

So I just wanted to send a public thank you to her for all her awesomeness!

THANK YOU!

And now for some good news I haven't been taken the time to announce, but would like to "officially" share with you.  

First, a minor, but very happy making thing. Book 2 is finished and has been sent to my awesome editor.  I canNOT wait to see what she says about it, so I can start book 3.  Eee! I've got some great things planned out, so I'm jonesing to write it!

A relatively huge thing for me, which isn't a secret as I've posted it on my book page, my website and twitter, but RENEGADE has sold German translation rights to Piper in there new imprint IVI!  

A special thank you to the wonderful Taryn Fagerness and my German editor, Beatrice!

Here's the PM announcement:

Foreign Rights Sale: Jessica Souders' RENEGADE to Piper in Germany, by Taryn Fagerness of Fagerness Literary Agency on behalf of Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Lit.

More news on that when it comes.

Some personal news, I'll share tomorrow. :)

And last, but not least, since I can't ever sit still for long, I'm excited about a new project that's been itching to be written for awhile now. More news on THAT later.

I'll try to keep up with this a bit more now that my crazy days are a little less crazy.


Until later,

Adieu!

Follower Love Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered the hop!  It was a huge success as far as I'm concerned! 

In case you didn't see it on the giveaway post, the winner is:

Sharmaine C!

Congrats, Sharmaine!  Email me at j.souders (at) jasouders (dot) com with your address and what book you want.

Thanks again for everyone who entered.  

 

Cover reveal contest winner

Oh my gosh, guys! I've been so flaky lately and I totally forgot to announce the winners for this! 

So without further adieu or delay.  The winner is:

LOUISA

Email me at j.souders (at) jasouders (dot) com with your address and I'll get that prize out to you ASAP. 

"That's YAmore" Blogfest

Can you believe that there's only a few days left until Valentine's Day 2012?  And once again I'm absolutely delighted to join my Oasis sister's in our 2nd annual That's YAmore Blogfest where we share 250 words of our most swoon worthy scene in a WIP. If you've started here, or stumbled here by mistake, and want to learn more, click here to be taken to the Oasis post that explains it better.


Unfortunately, I do not have a current WIP and the stuff I've been working on is revisions and edits for contracted work and I don't think I'm allowed to share anything from them yet. :P 

So...I'm choosing one of my absolute FAVORITE scenes from a completed work called MIRROR IMAGE.  I do hope one day that this will also become published, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy a peek at one of my unpublished works (with that in mind, please keep in mind that while it's been revised by me, it's still VERY rough).

As one, keeping our palms together we slid down, until we were sitting on the floor in front of each other.

         His eyes roamed over my body again, sending more tingles over my already supercharged body.  My heartbeat accelerated and, from what I could see from the pulse in his neck, matched his.  My breath clogged in my throat when he said, "You are so beautiful, Lily."

         "Thank you," I managed after a minute.

         He moved so only his fingertips touched the glass, sliding along the area my palm covered.  The surface was so warm already, I couldn't be sure, but I would have sworn I felt a change in the temperature. A slight one, but enough to cause a shiver to run down my arm.

 "Are you cold?" he whispered, his eyes moving from my palm to my face.

 "No."  I raised my other palm to the glass and he copied me, trailing his fingertips down the image of my hand.

 My heart skipped a beat and I had to look down for a moment, to stop the spinning in my head.   When I looked up again, he was watching me.

"The moonlight is different over there," he said.  "Softer, somehow."  He moved his fingertips to the center of the mirror, brushing the surface in a curve.  "It just barely touches your cheek."

 I covered my cheek with one hand, certain I would find some trace of him on my skin. As it was, I could just barely feel that cheek was warmer than the other. My heartbeat filled my ears in the quiet of my room.  It surprised me he couldn't hear it.

"It's not fair that it gets to touch you, but I can't." His voice was husky, making me tremble even more. "Is it strange to be jealous of it?"

And...that's all I could fit in the 250 words.  I hope you enjoyed.  Don't forget to visit the other blogs that are participating in the That's YAmore blogfest!

Follower Love Giveaway Hop

It's that time again.  The time when I giveaway books!

I decided to enter the Follower Love Giveaway Hop because I appreciate all my followers and I think I'm pretty close to 1000 followers! Whoot! What better way to start off my favorite month.

This hop is sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Rachael Renee Anderson.  There are over 300 participating blogs in this one, so make sure to take a look at the linky list below and enter to win all those awesome prizes!


This one is simple, all you have to do is follow my blog and then enter through the rafflecopter widget below. The prize will be a book of your choice from book depository.  Simple, right?

That being said, if book depository delivers to you country than you can entry, so yes, it's International.

For those that are still waiting on previous winnings, I'm SO sorry! I'm getting them out in the mail THIS WEEK!  Promise. Things have been a little hectic around here (you don't even want to know, trust me) and I haven't had a chance to get to the post office.