Great news--the paperback of
Stealing Heaven is now available in bookstores!
I know a lot of you had a hard time finding the book in hardcover, but I'm happy to say you can now pick up the paperback in your favorite local bookstore, and it's priced at $8.99--so a big all around YAY! for that.
I also have some links to share:
Author Anne Stuart has some advice about
letting a book go during a interesting post about the upcoming Romance Writers of American conference --
But ... publishing is the price you pay for being able to write. It's a crazy-making process, horrendously unhealthy, mentally. You pour your heart out into a book and then it's taken away and everything that happens after that is out of your control. It's like having your toddler taken away from you and put into military school. You never know how things are going to turn out, and yet your entire life may depend on it. Editorial Anonymous has tackled
Bookscan, and now agent Andrew Zack discusses it
as well--be sure to read the comments, as there is even more info-and debate!--to be found.
Twitter may be popular with celebrities, but it's
still not reaching that desired 18-24 and younger demo...yet.
Author Susan Beth Pfeffer has a
incredibly honest look at advances and royalties, drawing from her experience (money-wise) with her amazing book, Life As We Knew It. It's very rare for an author to be this open, and I applaud Susan for doing so, and urge you to read what she has to say--long-time readers of this blog will know that posts about authors and money in terms of real dollars are very rare indeed. So yes,
go read!
And finally, today I'm happy to have another guest blogger on board!
Today's blogger is Adam, another of the organizers of the
Teen Author Carnival, and who usualy blogs at
So Adam, How's That Book?I asked: If you could get publishers to do one thing, what would that be?
Adam said: Publish meee! : ) Other than that, I would like it if publishers made more of an effort to get their author's out there on a personal level. One of the thing's BEA taught me was that authors are people too, remarkable cool people, but people all the same. It would be much better if publishers had support programs to help authors set up internet outreach websites, and blog/vlogs, so that their readers can get to know them. As it stands now, if an author wants to set up an online community, they have to figure it all out themselves, and pay for it out of pocket. The publishing companies should put more cash away for helping their authors build communities of fans online. Hollywood dumps millions into actor images, and authors should get as much fame and reward for their creativity as Hollywood stars do.
I asked: What do you wish authors would do more of online?
Adam said: Talk with people. Going back to my authors are people too point, I think that getting to know authors on a personal level has really made me a more interested (and more devoted) reader. If authors could meet, in person, every reader and prospective reader in the universe (Aliens love books too!), nearly every person they met would be interested in their books, because people are more intriguing(and memorable) in person. For example, at the infamous BEA, I, and a number of my colleagues, spent a few days just hanging out with young author Robyn Shcnieder, and although I had never even heard of her before that, I found myself drawn to reading her books, because now she wasn't some interesting name on a shelf, she was a person and a friend. Happily, we do not all have to travel to New York to meet really interesting people(who happen to write books), we can meet them online. If authors actually talk with the hordes of cyber fans they meet, they'll end up with thousands of people who are not just readers, they're friends.
I said: What is your favorite book of all time?
Adam said: Single book? Impossible. But my favorite series is the Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, followed closely by the Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series. But let me see if I can defy the impossible and pick just one..... AH-HA! And the winner is.... (has anyone ever noticed that there is no point in drawing out a suspenseful conclusion in text, since people can just skip ahead?).... drum roll please..... Looking for Alaska by John Green! *cheering and yelling* Looking for Alaska was deep, powerful, emotive, fun, and it pulled me in like a crusty old fisherman using his lucky rod. John Green's writing in Alaska is genius (did you know genius and Green start with the same letter?!) and it made significant change in my outlook on the world. So that's my not-cheating-by-picking-a-series answer.
I said: Best young adult novel you've read recently?
Adam said: Well, that answer depends on the use of “recently” in the question. If recently means the last week, then I would have to say Going Bovine by Libba Bray, unfortunately, that was an ARC, which I have been told doesn't count. So, if the constrains on our “recently” are stretched, we could go back six weeks to Paper Towns by John Green. But that was awhile ago, so we'll settle with 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson that I read three weeks ago. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, was a deeply moving experience hiding in a cute and charming adventure. It made me smile, laugh, and even tear up a little (they were very manly tears though), but mostly it just made me want to visit Europe again.
I said: Best young adult novel you love that doesn't get nearly enough love?
Adam said: Um, well (INCOMING COP OUT ANSWER) all young adult book don't get enough love. The genre itself suffers from adult themes being pushed into the box of children's literature discrimination. More libraries and bookstores need to give YA it's own section! Okay, real answer: the book Graceling by Kristen Cashore, which has been getting a little more love lately but deserves a whole second helping of it (especially with the prequel and sequel coming out soon). It was touching, inventive, and fantastically fantastical (which is a good thing, because I like fantasy)(and I use to many parenthesis). So everybody go out and love Graceling, and then go love your local library, and tell them to pass that love on to a YA section.
Wow! Thank you, Adam :-)
As I said last week, I think what amazes me most about the Teen Carnival organizers is how passionate and articulate they are about books. And so I'd like to give away one copy of each book Adam suggested that I give away, Looking for Alaska and Graceling.
For your chance to win, just leave a comment by midnight EST this Friday, June 26th telling me what one thing YOU would like to see publishers do regarding young adult novels and you could win a copy of Looking for Alaska and Graceling! I'll pick the winner at random and yes, you can enter this contest if you live overseas.
