In My Mailbox (28)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event held by The Story Siren.

For upcoming blog tours:

Don't Breathe a Word: A Novel by Jennifer McMahon & The Ninth Wife: A Novel by Amy Stolls.

From Netgalley:

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Free for my Nook:

Backstage Pass: Sinners on Tour by Olivia Cunning & Photographs & Phantoms by Cindy Spencer Pape.

From the library:

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale, Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken & The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg.

 The Runaways #1, The Runaways #2, The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1) by James Dashner, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford, & The Writing Circle (Voice) by Corinne Demas.

From Paperback Swap:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah Maclean.

Birthday gifts:

My friend Michele is lucky enough to live in Austin, Texas, near one of the best bookstores in the country, Book People. She got The Oatmeal book signed for me!

From my husband:

Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2) by Holly Black, Undercover by Lauren Dane, A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang, Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning & The Iron King (Harlequin Teen) by Julie Kagwa.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours/Harper, & Dutton Childrens!

Contemporary YA Giveaway!

Today's my birthday and I want to celebrate! So I'm having a little contest. Since I started writing my own contemporary YA novel, my interest in the genre has exploded. I enjoy the range of emotions that I feel when I'm reading contemporary. Gayle Forman's If I Stay is the best book I've read in ages, and while it has some otherworldly elements, it's base is in contemporary fiction for sure. I haven't really read a contemporary YA book I haven't liked, so I thought I'd give away a choice of some of my favorite contemporary books.

The details: the winner will get their choice of one of the following books. This contest is open internationally, provided that you live where The Book Depository ships. It's your responsibility to check before entering, and if a winner is chosen that does not live where The Book Depository ships, a new winner will be chosen. This contest will be open until May 11th at midnight EST.

Books up for grabs: If I Stay by Gayle Forman,  Where She Went by Gayle Forman, Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala, Losing Faith by Denise Jaden, Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz, Stay by Deb Caletti, Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi & The DUFF: (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger.

Do You Cast Your Novels?

In my experience, writers tend to be a divided camp on whether or not they "cast" their novels. Some writers have inspiration photos of actors or models they think best represent their characters. Others say that they just can't do that. I fall into the casting category, but with a caveat. For my first book I looked for inspiration photos for every main character. It took hours of valuable writing time away. Now I look for inspiration photos in general, not just of the characters but photos that represent the theme of the story.

For example, my latest novel takes place in Malibu, California. I found a house that I use as inspiration for where a large part of the action takes place:

I like the style of this house and how it's right on the beach. The house in my story is larger and more secluded, but this photo came closest to the image in my mind. As for the characters in the novel, I haven't cast any of the characters except the main character, Maura. I found this photo on We Heart It, one of my favorite places to cull inspiration photos.

Maura isn't an exact match for this girl, as she only has one tattoo while this girl has several, but she is a match in every other way. Sometimes I'll find a photo and say "That's it!" and other times no. For some works I never find a photo that's an exact match, and that's okay. I don't need the photos in order to write.

I'm also a fan of text art and look for pictures that I feel reflect the theme of the novel. This photo does double work because it's a beach scene and the novel has themes of loss.

I also have a general inspiration image file. Photos that are inspiring, but I don't have a story for...yet.

Do you cast your novels or have an inspiration image file? Why or why not?

Review & Contest: Warm Bodies by Issac Marion

Warm Bodies: A Novel-Isaac Marion
Publisher: Atria
Publication date: April 26, 2011
Source: Review copy provided by publisher/agent
Author website

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.
(Amazon)


As a book blogger, I get excited when I hear about books that I can think are going to be huge. I think Warm Bodies is one of those books. It's blurbed by Stephenie Meyer & Audrey Niffenegger. It's being made into a film with Nicolas Hoult as the star. I tend not to get wrapped up in hype, but when all that hype is for a novel about zombies, I can't help it. I love the genre like crazy.

I've read all manner of zombie novels, and I enjoy different takes on zombie myth. The zombies in Warm Bodies are different, as is the disease which turned them. R is a zombie, sure, but he still has cognitive thought and feelings on a basic level. Even the more far gone zombies still have a fraction of thought. When R meets Julie on a routine food run and decides to spare her life, he begins to notice a change within himself.

I enjoyed everything about Warm Bodies. The prose is elegant, the characters intriguing (even the zombies ) and it's far different from any book I've read in the genre-and I mean that in the very best possible way.

Thanks to the Atria Books/Regal Literary I have a copy of Warm Bodies to give away! This contest is open to US/Canada only. Contest closes May 3rd at midnight EST.