HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!



If you celebrate Halloween for fun, have a great night and stay safe!!


~ Kelly & Tina

What's Fresh with Marilee Brothers's Moonstone

A sickly mom. A tiny house trailer. High school bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad-guy dudes with charming smiles. Allie has problems. And then there's that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil. Geez. Welcome to the sad, funny, sometimes-scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who's struggling to keep her and her mom's act together in the small-town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. An electrical zap from a TV antenna sets off Allie's weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows she's being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and then her mysterious neighbor, the town "witch," gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a good-hearted "Star Seeker" is meant to command. "Who, me?" is Allie's first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she's got a destiny to live up to. If she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime.

Hello Marilee, thanks for joining us! Could you please tell us about your first sale?

Marilee: My first real sale was to Medallion Press. I’d been trying to sell Magpie’s Redemption for a year and was pretty discouraged. It didn’t fit into any known category - not a romance although it has romantic elements, too reality based to be chick lit and too funny for nail-biting suspense. After a major publisher held it for six months before rejecting it, I decided my ugly stepchild needed a makeover. I changed the whole manuscript from past tense to present. Trust me, I’ll never do that again! Magpie’s Redemption became The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam. I sent it to Medallion Press whose submission guidelines state they like stories “outside the box.” Turned out to be a marriage made in heaven for my misfit of a book. The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam will be published in October, 2009.

My first YA book, Moonstone, made me a believer in “six degrees of separation,” an idea with the following premise: “If I am one step away from every person I know and two steps away from every person who is known by each of the people I know, then I am six steps away from everyone on earth.”

It started with a rejection letter. After telling me Magpie’s Rejection wasn’t right for her line, the editor went on to say, “You have a natural voice for YA. You should try it.” Her advice pointed me in a new direction, one I had never considered. I began to write Moonstone. In the early stages of the book, I submitted eight pages to a RWA contest with a Young Adult category and placed second. I didn’t know it at the time, but Debra Dixon of Belle Books was one of the judges. Six months later, she hunted me down and said, “Finish the book.”

I did and Moonstone became the debut YA fantasy for their new imprint Bell Bridge Books.

What's your writing routine like?

Marilee: I’m a morning writer. I try to be at the computer by 9:00 a.m. at the latest and write until 12 or 1. Before I start a book, I write a detailed description for each of my main characters…their physical appearance, their backgrounds, their hang-ups, gestures, etc. By the time I start writing, I know how they’ll react in any given situation. Then, I write a very general synopsis. Before each chapter, I brainstorm possible scenes and develop a sketchy outline. Working from the outline, I write the chapter, using only the elements that move the story forward.

Please tell us about your latest novel, Moonstone.

My YA fantasy, Moonstone, was released by Bell Bridge Book on August 15, 2008, the first book in the Unbidden Magic series. The protagonist, Allie Emerson is fifteen and lives in a shabby travel trailer with her malingering mother. Allie develops paranormal powers when she falls off a ladder, bounces off an electric fence and lands in a cow pie. Shortly after, she discovers an age-old prophecy that says she’s destined to save the world from evil. What’s a girl to do but try?

Sounds great! What's up next for you?

Marilee: I’m currently working on Allie’s next adventure. In it, she’ll meet Beck Bradford, an extremely hot guy who’s half human, half demon ( a good demon, of course).

Thanks again for sharing, Marilee! I wish you the best with your writing career. Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Marilee: My main problem is listening to unsolicited advice from the nasty little critic inside my head who tells me, “You’re writing crap!” When I realize I’ve been agonizing over one paragraph for an hour, I do the following. Set the timer for thirty minutes. One rule only: Keep writing until the buzzer goes off. It works for me. I almost always find a couple of gems I can polish up and use.

I’m a former teacher and counselor, married to my college sweetheart and the mother of three sons. I live in Central Washington State on the dry side of the Cascade and write full time when life doesn’t get in the way. Visit her website, www.marileebrothers.com/

The Little Things...

Getting in shape/keeping in shape is usually associated with spring, but with the holidays coming, I think it’s as important now as ever.

Some of you may know that in the past eighteen months or so, I’ve really stepped up my exercise, and have been feeling better. In fact, I had to buy a bunch of size-smaller summer clothes--yay!


So now my focus is not so much on how to get in shape, but the little things a person can do to stay in shape. For me, that’s walking whenever possible. Leaving the car at home altogether. Going out for after-dinner strolls. Using a treadmill. And I think I’ve started annoying friends who invite me out for coffee or lunch because I say, “Sure, how about that place near the park, and we can walk afterwards?”

Here’s a few more things I aspire toward:

--Drinking lots of water (because it’s not only good for you, it fills you up).

--Parking on the far side of parking lots, forcing myself to walk the difference to the store or restaurant.

--Not eating again after dinner.

I'm not saying I accomplish them, but I try. What are some little things that you do, or try to do, to stay healthy?

Plain Crazy for Pumpkin!

One of the best things to me about this time of year is the return of pumpkin. Pie, cookies, bread, lattes, soup, mousse, cake, waffles, pancakes, ravioli. Even the scent in an aerosol. Bring it on!


And the twist on this craving is that it’s actually healthy, as pumpkin is a natural oxidant.

Something the Australians must know. For when I visited there in the summer of 2002, I found pumpkin soup on almost every menu--no joke--and had at least one bowl daily, even on the dive boat out in the Great Barrier Reef. Yum.


And I’m one of Starbucks’ most loyal customer when they’ve got the pumpkin latte on their menu.

Although I have to say that one time I got to taste test competing slices of pumpkin pie--one made from a hollowed-out pumpkin, the other from canned filling--I preferred the canned. Which made me wonder if I was a true pumpkin purist...


In any case, put the word “pumpkin” in a recipe title, and I’m there. Anyone else crazy for the big orange fruit?

What's Fresh with Stacy DeKeyser's Jump The Cracks

What would you do?

As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse not to be decent...Especially when you're responsible for a kid.

It just figures that fifteen-year old Victoria's dad fails once again to be at the train station like he's promised. Fuming, Victoria watches as a teen mom stashes her bruised little boy in the train's bathroom. When the mom gets off the train alone, Victoria decides she has had it with all the poor excuses who call them selves parents. Making a split-second decision, Victoria boards the next train out of town-taking the little boy with her.

No, really, what would you do?Victoria's staying on the run until everyone responsible starts keeping their promises. This kid's not falling through the cracks. Not on her watch.

Hi Stacy, great to have you here! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Stacy: My first sale was to Scholastic Library Press. I got a two-book deal! I wrote two 64-page biographies for midgraders: Sacagawea, and The Wampanoag. I loved writing them. It was after I'd been writing for about 8 years and decided I had no future writing fiction. :)

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Stacy: First thing, I get my kids up and ready for school. Then I feed the dog. Make coffee. Read e-mail and a few blogs, check my website stats...when all that's done, and my coffee is gone, and I think I ought to be doing laundry...I start writing.

Please tell us about your latest novel Jump the Cracks and what we can expect from your characters.

Stacy: Jump the Cracks was published by Flux in March 2008. It's about a girl who decides she has to break some rules in order to do the "right" thing.

What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Stacy: Yes! I just finished a new novel about a girl who hears voices. Which worries her, but the thing is, she likes the voices.

Sounds great! Thanks for sharing, Stacy! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Stacy: There are no shortcuts. Writing well enough to be published is similar to playing tennis well enough to play at Wimbledon. You have to practice a LOT.

Growing up in Wisconsin, Stacy DeKeyser spent her childhood summers reading at the library. The author of two middle-grade nonfiction books, Stacy has since turned to writing fiction. She received a Work-in-Progress Grant from SCBWI for her first novel, and is now working on her second novel for young people. She lives in Connecticut. Visit her website, http://www.stacydekeyser.com.

2008 Cybil nominees have been posted for the following categories!

Easy Readers
Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade)
Fantasy & Science Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels (Middle Grade)
Graphic Novels (Young Adult)
Middle Grade Novels
Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Novels

Check them out!

Congratulations to...

SHALONDA

Who is the winner of a signed copy of Invisible Touch.


Shalonda, please contact me through my MySpace (www.myspace.com/ferrarotina) or my website (www.tinaferraro.com) with your mailing address so we can get that in the mail to you!

And for those of you who didn’t win, be sure to check my MySpace blog later this week for another Invisible Touch giveaway!

AN INVISIBLE TOUCH GIVEAWAY!

I'm happy to announce we're giving away a copy of Kelly's latest release, Invisible Touch, to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment (or question for Kelly) in our comments section to be entered. The winner will be chosen after 6 pm PST on Sunday, October 19.



Good luck! And to hold you over until you get your hands on a copy, Kelly and I sat down to chat about it...

Hey, Kelly, please tell us about your latest novel, Invisible Touch, published by MTV/Pocket Books, which released on October 14th, 2008.

Hi Tina, thanks for chatting with me! Invisible Touch is about secrets, signs, and fate and how they effect one girl named Kara Martinez. Kara has a secret, she sees signs,visions, on individual's torsos and must piece the the images together like a puzzle in order to try and stop an unfortunate fate, all the while keeping her ability secret from her family and peers. She creates an anonymous blog called Secret Fates in order to express her secrets freely. Once she meets a mysterious boy, the signs lead her further into danger and she must solve the clues before its too late. It is a story mixed with mystery, romance and family drama.

Wonderful. Tell us, how did the idea for this novel come about?

I love shows about the paranormal, such as Ghost Whisperer, and thought it would be cool to have a girl see visions. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. This kind of gift would often be a curse. Kara and her family are also dealing with the loss of Kara's father, and that connected with me with losing a parent. The themes in this novel combined to make a story I wanted to tell.

What do you hope readers will gain from reading this novel?

I hope they'll be satisfied at the end of the book and feel entertained, and hopefully just "feel". Those are the kinds of books I like to read, ones that leave a positive impression. I try to share stories like that with readers.

You not only strive for that, but you accomplish it (says your proud critique partner). Thanks for sharing. Would you like to close with a novel you highly recommend and why?

I have to recommend Tina's next novel, THE ABC'S OF KISSING BOYS, coming out in January '09. It's a story of friendship and family, and a girl's struggle to keep her life in control while other parts are not so easily tamed. And there's lots of kissing...

A lot, yeah! LOL--good answer!

Bio: KELLY PARRA debuted into young adult fiction with the Latina novel GRAFFITI GIRL, a double RITA finalist and Latinidad top pick in 2007. Her latest novel is the YA contemporary paranormal, INVISIBLE TOUCH.

Kelly currently lives somewhere in between dreamland and her hometown in Central Coast California. When not pulling her hair while writing her current novel, she likes to play with her abundance of websites and feed a serious television addiction. Visit her website, www.Kelly Parra.com or visit the Secret Fates blog.

Interview with Catherine Hyde Ryan

On Monday, we ran a review of Catherine Hyde Ryan's May 2008 young adult novel, The Day I Killed James. She was gracious enough to answer some questions for us, too...so without futher adieu...

Hello, Catherine. Thank you for joining us. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Like most writers, I couldn't initially publish anything to save my life. I couldn't even get an agent for many years. I began to write short fiction, which I marketed myself. It's a nicely level playing field, because agents won't touch it (very little money to be made) and so (short story) editors accept and, in fact, expect submissions directly from authors. After a few short story acceptances (which I accomplished after a few hundred rejections) I found agents much more attentive. But I still had to start with a very small press (for my first novel, Funerals for Horses) and work my way up.

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

They don't all look the same, so I'll describe two.

In one, I have a novel in progress. It's working. So I get up, do ten or fifteen minutes of Yoga, drink a cup of tea, and start work. I usually try to knock off in time for the evening news, but will usually go back and spend several hours polishing what I wrote that day, taking me close to bedtime.

In the second, it's not working. Which really just means that the scenes that come next are not ready. Not fully imagined. I find it not only waste of time but a morale drain to write pages that are destined for the recycle bin. So I may take off with my kayak and not come back until nightfall, or I may spend the day doing drudge work like getting the car serviced or catching up with email. It all depends on how much I have to do.

I think I'm still caught on the kayacking! Wow.

Please tell us about your novel, The Day I Killed James, and what we can expect from your characters.

Theresa is an eighteen-year-old girl who blames herself for the suicide of a young man who loved her. She didn't hurt him with malice aforethought, but she did hurt him. On the same night he drove his motorcycle off a cliff. So you can expect her to wither under the burden of her own crushing guilt. And to run away from everything she thinks of as comprising herself. And to try never to let anybody close enough to get hurt again. But since she's one of my characters, you can expect her to climb her way out of that self-made prison (one of my characters in one of my unpublished novels once remarked that a prison is a prison regardless of its builder). She does this with the help of an 11-year-old girl who sticks to her like a piece of gum on the bottom of her shoe, but who ultimately helps her turn around them both around.

What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

I always have another project in the works. Except when I have two or three.

Next summer, Knopf will release my next YA book, Diary of a Witness. It's slightly different, in that it involves two teenage boy characters. Our protagonist, Ernie, (who is more than 100 pounds overweight) is an outcast, and so is his best (and only) friend Will. But Ernie has a mom who, though a bit hysterical, loves him. He also has his Uncle Max as a leveling figure. But Will's home life is falling apart and so is he, and he is about to take matters into his own hands regarding the popular jocks who torment them daily. And poor Ernie may be the only one who can prevent disaster.

I also have a new adult novel that is not yet under contract here in the US, but which has just been sold to Transworld, my UK publisher (things are actually much better for my career over there). I hope that I will soon be able to say it has a US publisher as well.

My YA editor is just now reading my new YA novel, Jumpstart the World, about a teenage girl who falls in love with her older next door neighbor before realizing he is transgender (female to male in transition).

And I'm writing a new YA right now.

They all sound terrific. Now, would Would you like to close with a writing tip?

I guess I'd have to say, "Expect rejection." I don't mean it as a negative. I say it because so many good writers get discouraged over it, and many give up. But maybe they could weather rejection better if they had set themselves to expect it. It's part and parcel of the business. I've gotten rejections within the past few months (editors who think my newest adult novel is too literary for the current market) and I hope newer writers will remind themselves of that before they decide they had better not quit their day jobs. Maybe just look at your next rejection as your membership card in the Real Writer's Club.

Thank you so much, Catherine, and we’ll be keeping our eyes open for all your books!

The National Book Foundation 2008 Nominees for Young People's Literature Announced!

Laurie Halse Anderson, Chains (Simon & Schuster)
Kathi Appelt, The Underneath (Atheneum)
Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied (Scholastic)
E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion)
Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf)

Congrats to Laurie, Kathi, Judy, E., and Tim!!!

Its finally here, the official release day for Invisible Touch! Yay! :) :)

Last year, Graffiti Girl started showing up at stores a week early. This year Amazon released Invisible Touch 2 weeks early, haha. Hopefully stores will release Touch today!

Click here to read an excerpt and check out a couple raves for Invisible Touch:

"A magical blending of mystery, romance, and deep and dangerous secrets. Kelly Parra’s Invisible Touch is an action-packed coming-of-age novel, sure to keep readers turning pages and begging for a sequel."

-- Laurie Faria Stolarz, Bestselling author of Blue is for Nightmares and Deadly Little Secret

"The Gold Award of Excellence! An amazing, touching novel that deals with big issues in an original context."

-- TeensReadToo, Reviewer Lauren Ashley

And for my release day my character Kara's secret blog post is up on Secret Fates...comment to win Invisible Touch. Winner will be announced October 19th. Thanks! :)

Book Review: The Day I Killed James

Catherine Ryan Hyde and I have been Myspace friends for a while, a fact I find very cool since I am a fan of her novel, Pay It Forward, and its feature film version, starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment.

And while Kelly is primarily the book reviewer here at YA Fresh, I approached Catherine about reviewing her May 2008 release, The Day I Killed James, and was very pleased when she not only responded enthusiastically, but had her publicist mail me a copy.

Here is the press release blurb:

Everything seems ideal in Theresa’s life--she’s beautiful, popular, and she’s dating the “perfect” guy. So when her fickle boyfriend decides he’s not sure what he wants, it’s only harmless jealousy and a little self-pride that makes Theresa bring her cute older neighbor, James, to a party. And even though James loves Theresa, it’s only for the night, so it’s risk-free, right? But when everything goes horribly wrong, and James commits suicide, it becomes anything but a “harmless” night. To cope with the pain, Theresa runs away, shaves her head, and vows never to let anyone close enough to love her again. But the more Theresa runs, the more she must face herself.


I really enjoyed this book. It kept me thinking, kept me feeling, and kept me rooting for the main character to find her way to self-forgiveness.

Theresa reveals her pain in journal form, first person and third, in short chapters, but the writing is so heartfelt and powerful that the book has a bigger, meatier feel that only 200+ pages.

Take, for instance, the following passage. When musing about how Theresa suddenly started missing James, she says:

“No, that’s not right to say I started. I didn’t start. I just kind of joined it in progress, zero to a hundred percent while I wasn’t even paying attention. It wasn’t there, then it was.”

I stopped short after reading that paragraph, marveling over how many times in my life I have suddenly found myself in mid-emotion, not knowing when it started or how I’d gotten so far into its throes. And thinking about how she’d not only identified that feeling, but how perfectly she’d described it.

Catherine Hyde Ryan weaves a tender and beautiful story in The Day I Killed James. I expect it to hear much about it in the days to come, on Favorites and Best lists...and who knows, maybe it’ll make to the big screen, as well?

We are having lots of fun sharing secrets on Secret Fates!

I just wanted to share the YA authors who are generously giving away books this week:

Monday: Jenny O'Connell shared about LOCAL GIRLS...

Wednesday: Alex McAulay is giving away OBLIVION ROAD...

Friday: Jennifer Echols offers up THE BOY NEXT DOOR and MAJOR CRUSH...

Saturday: Stephanie Hale has two books up for grabs, REVENGE OF THE HOMECOMING QUEEN and TWISTED SISTERS...

You have until Saturday night to comment for a chance to win book(s) from one of these cool authors! :)

Cybils!

Don't forget to nominate your fave 2008 books for the Third Annual Cybil Awards!

Nominations close October 15th.

Here are the eligible genres:

Easy Readers, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Novels, Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Poetry, Young Adult Novels.

Happy nominating! :)

Invisible Touch is now within reach...

October is one of my favorite months with cooler weather, the changing leaves, insane amounts of candy, and my favorite color--ORANGE--everywhere. I even chose this month for my wedding.

This October there's something special to celebrate. Behold what the postman brought me!



Most of you know that as Kelly's critique partner, I not only got to read the book in its entirety, but in its burgeoning moments and earliest pieces, as well. Being on the inside track is part of what makes me so proud to see Kelly's book hit the stands--well, that and the bang-up, knock-it-outta-the-ball-park job she did.

So here's me, showing the book some love...


...while silently reviewing my October schedule for time for another wonderful read!

Congrats, Kelly! And everyone else, I highly recommend this gripping and exciting read!

What's Fresh with Katie Finn's Top 8

Madison MacDonald is seriously freaking out.

Madison MacDonald
16
Putnam, CT
Status: Single?

About Me:
Everything in my life was working out. I had my three best friends, a brand-new boyfriend, and the lead in the school play. Aside from that history paper I hadn't started, things felt perfect.

Then I returned from spring break to find my Friendverse profile hacked. Someone clearly out to ruin me had spilled the most damaging secrets - AND posted the worst photos of me ever taken - online.

Now my boyfriend and I are broken up, half the school hates me, and I'm in deep trouble.

Goals:
Get my boyfriend back, figure out who could have done this, and clear my name!

Also, pass history.

Hello Katie, thanks for agreeing to chat. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale ?

Katie: I've always loved writing, but in high school and college, I was much more focused on playwriting. I didn't start really writing prose until my senior year of college. But I really liked it, and decided to apply to graduate school. Since I'd always been interested in children's literature, I focused on those programs. I attended The New School, receiving my MFA in Writing for Children and Teens in 2007. I have always been drawn to Young Adult writing in particular, and that's what I focused on in grad school. After I graduated, I really just wanted to work on something fun. So when my editor brought up the idea of a social networking book, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. My first sale, to Scholastic/ Point, was the YA novel Top 8.

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Katie: I know some writers can write in little bursts here and there, but I've never been about to do that. I really need a big, four or five-hour
chunk of time, since it takes me about two hours to stop messing around and really get down to work. So I prefer to write at night, and on the weekends. I'm part of a great group of fellow writers, and on the weekends, usually on a Sunday, we all hunker down for the day with our laptops in Starbucks. And when we have drafts to show each other, we turn into a little critique group. It's incredibly helpful.

Please tell us about your latest novel Top 8 and what we can expect from your characters.

Katie: The novel is called Top 8, and it's coming out in October 2008 from Scholastic/ Point. I've been summing it up in shorthand as "a Facebook mystery." It's what happens when a high school junior, Madison, comes home from a Spring Break trip with her family. She'd been in the Galapagos for two weeks with no internet access. When she gets home, she finds her Friendverse profile (the book's social networking site) has been hacked into. Horrible photos have been posted, secrets have been spilled, most of her friends have turned against her, and her boyfriend has broken up with her. Madison, with the assistance of her three best friends, sets out to figure out who could have done this, and learns some things about herself along the way. And, of course, there's a boy...

Great! What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Katie: A lot of readers have contacted me on Facebook and MySpace, asking me if there's going to be a Top 8 sequel, and so lately I've begun to think about one, but still just in really vague terms. I'd love to write one, but mysteries have to be plotted so carefully, it might take me some time to figure out. In the meantime, I'm about a third of the way
through my new novel. It's a little darker than Top 8, but also features a girl who is told some stunning news and has to change her life in reaction to it.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Katie! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Katie: The one writing tip I can give is to find a writing community - either online or in person. I feel like I have such great support from my friends who are also writing, and it's just always nice to feel like you're not the only person in the world going through something. Writing is just so solitary that it's really nice to be able to look around and see that you're not alone in it!

Katie Finn grew up in Manhattan and Greenwich, Connecticut. She now lives in Brooklyn and only checks her MySpace and Facebook three-okay eight-times a day. Friend-request her at www.myspace.com/katiefinnwrites or write on her Facebook wall!

Just a quick reminder!

Secrets are being shared now for Laurie Faria Stolarz, Amanda Ashby, our Tina Ferraro, and tomorrow Liza Conrad with books up for grabs until Saturday night at Secretfates.blogspot.com!

Then a new line up of authors and books next week!

Come join us. :)

Hi Everyone, the Secret Fates Extravaganza begins today and you're invited!

Where 26 authors of various genres will be sharing secrets and giveaways to help me celebrate the release of my latest novel INVISIBLE TOUCH (October 14, 2008) published by MTV Books!

I have to say these authors are super cool to donate their time and books to what I hope will be a fun month. I'm so excited! Thank you, Authors!!!

You may wonder, Why Secret Fates?

My character Kara in INVISIBLE TOUCH has a secret, she sees signs on individuals and pieces the signs together in order to help stop unfortunate fates, and she shares this supernatural secret on an anonymous blog called Secret Fates. So I thought it would be great to create this blog to share author and character secrets!

Check out the promo video for all the authors participating:

This is how it'll work. Through the month of October, I will be posting an author secret and giveaway every day on Secret Fates except for Sundays. You will have the week to post a comment on the author's secret, then on that following Sunday I will announce the winners for the week. Then the next week we start again with a new group of talented authors.

Sound good?

Here is the schedule for this week:

WEEK 1

Wednesday, October 1st: Laurie Faria Stolarz shares about PROJECT 17...

Thursday, October 2nd: Amanda Ashby dishes on the backstory of YOU HAD ME AT HALO...

Friday, October 3rd: Tina Ferraro dishes on THE ABCs OF KISSING BOYS and offers up two releases...

Saturday, October 4th: Erica Orloff aka Liza Conrad shares a personal experience and offers up THE POKER DIARIES...

SPECIAL NOTE:

If you help spread the word through the month of October about the Secret Fates Extravaganza (by sharing a link http://secretfates.blogspot.com + the promo video) on your blog, myspace or facebook, and leave a comment here with a link to the blog or post or telling me how you helped, you'll be entered to win a copy of GRAFFITI GIRL and INVISIBLE TOUCH by me, and your pick of one of Secret Fates Extravaganza participating authors' novels. (If you've already read one of my books I'll replace it with one of the author's novels, too. Either way, you win 3 books.) The more you spread the word, the better chances of winning!

Okay, we're kicking it off with Laurie Faria Stolarz here...

Thanks and I hope you join in!!!

~Kelly :)