The September Sisters by Jillian Cantor & a Giveaway!

Meet Abby and Becky, sisters two years apart, and birthdays one day apart in September, thus their mother calls them The September Sisters. Only problem? They despise one another. They fight constantly, crave their parents' attention and want everything the other has. They are young siblings, after all.

Sadly, one night shatters the tight family of four when one of the September Sisters, Becky, the youngest has vanished. Abby goes through the following two years dealing with the destruction of their family and the questions of what may have happened to a little girl in the middle of the night in a quiet neighborhood, as well as experiencing the ups and downs of first love.

I could not stop reading Abby's story. Jillian Cantor's voice flows and everything scene urges you on. Abby deals with uncertainty, then fear, endless questions, anger, and hope all through a young girl's eyes. This story is a memorable debut novel by Jillian Cantor that is incredibly moving, and a novel to certainly make you feel.

It just so happens I have 3 fabulous hardcover copies of The September Sisters up for grabs. So comment between now and Sunday and I'll announce 3 lucky winners Monday morning!

Good luck!

A YA Fresh Giveaway (of sorts)!

Some of you may remember that author Brooke Taylor won a copy of The ABC's of Kissing Boys in one of our recent contests. Well, it turned out she'd already read all of our books (we love Brooke Taylor!) but offered to do a YA FRESH book giveaway on her blog. An idea which welove!

So...if you'd like to enter to win a signed copy of The ABC’s of Kissing Boys and Invisible Touch, simply use THIS LINK to jump over to Brooke's blog and enter.

Best of luck!

Color Me Orange!

It seems there’s always been tests that told you what your colors were. Based on a series of questions, they would conclude which color best defined your personality or complemented your hair and skin tones.

I never had to take any of those tests. For as long as I can remember (and waaay before clothing stores commonly carried these shades), I have been partial to the orange family: bright orange, blood orange, burnt orange, peach, amber.

In fact, here I am at my 2009 booksigning launch:


Good blouse color, huh?

And last fall, notice what color prominently adorned my coffee table to highlight the release of Kelly’s newest book:


Uh-huh, orange.

In fact, if you’ve ever read an interview with me where I respond about my favorite color and why, odds are I said, “Burnt orange because it makes a statement without being too obvious.”

These days, of course, best color tests are a dime-a-dozen. And FYI, the one I took on Facebook DID respond with orange. (Go Facebook!) But I really have no deeper answer as to why I love orange than why I’m am nuts for root beer floats or can’t resist talking to cats and babies. It’s just...me.

So now I’d like to turn the tables. Tell us...what color is you?And, if you are so inclined, add why!

What's Fresh with Melissa Walker's Lovestruck Summer!

Austin Music Fest
Yay, summer in Austin!
Good food, good times. Fun for everyone!
Okay, living with my sorority-brainwashed cousin, who willingly goes by "Party Penny," is not exactly what I had in mind.
All your favorite bands
But the cute musicians I've met totally make up for it . . . like Sebastian. Swoon.
All ages welcome
So why can't I stop thinking about Penny's friend All-American Russ and his Texas twang??
Saturday & Sunday, from noon to midnight
Don't wait up!

Hello Melissa, always great to have you on YA Fresh! Please tell us about your latest novel, Lovestruck Summer.

Melissa: Lovestruck Summer, out May 5th from HarperTeen, is about 18-year-old Quinn, an indie rock girl who gets her dream internship at an independent music label in Austin. She imagines she'll find a perfect hipster guy to date, but she can't stop thinking about the country-music-listening, sarcastic, curly-haired cowboy next door. It's a fun romance.

Sounds great! What was the most difficult part of writing this novel?

Melissa: I wanted to show lots of Austin, so I had to do that from memory. I LOVE that city and I hope I did it some justice. It's a rocking town.

Could you tell us what type of promotion you or your publisher are doing for your novel?

Melissa: For a chance to win Lovestruck Summer, plus 3 other great beach reads, your readers can go to iheartdaily.com/Harper2009.html. That's our big promo!

Please list one similarity and one difference between yourself and your main character.

Melissa: Quinn has short, blue hair (which I've always wanted but was always too chicken to do).

Both Quinn and I THINK we know our type in guys, but we usually fall for someone unexpected.

Fun! Thank you again for sharing, Melissa, could you please tell us one of your favorite lines from the book?

Melissa: Let's see, I'm having to pull from memory, but when Quinn is making nice after a fight with her cousin Penny, she says, "Penny, you are not a stereotype. You have a cross-dressing dog! If that isn't defying the norm, I don't know what is."

A former editor at ELLEgirl and Seventeen magazines, Melissa Walker knows her indie rock. She hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She loves talking about books, fashion, magazines and all kinds of pop culture. Visit her at melissacwalker.com or on iheartdaily.com.

Plum Fruity!

There’s lots of wonderful things to be said about this season as the spring gives way to summer. One’s focus often goes to the end of school, summer jobs and vacations.

But the other day I had the pleasure of biting into a slice of fresh, ripe mango...and I felt like I’d fast-forwarded to the Fourth of July. It had been ages since I’d had really good mango, and it was like a culinary fireworks experience!

And it reminded me that ‘tis the season for really good fruit. The berries: blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Watermelon. Bing cherries. Plums. Peaches. Grapes. Pineapple. Pears. Apples. Oranges. Tangerines. Kiwis. Coconuts. Tomatoes. (Yes, coconuts are tomatoes both classified as fruits. Swear!)

I think I'm going to be very busy this summer, eating them all!

Am I forgetting anything? And what’s YOUR favorite?

The Great Scavenger Hunt "Dueling Blog Tour" with Kay Cassidy

Author Kay Cassidy is here to chat more about The Great Scavenger Hunt!

Q: What made you decide to create The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest?

Kay: As a YA author and proud owner of a well-worn library card, I wanted to give something back to all the librarians whose book recommendations helped me grow as a writer and fed my imagination over the years. With the economy in turmoil, funding for public libraries is taking a major hit. School libraries are struggling as well. So I set out to create a totally free program that teen and youth librarians could use to keep kids excited about reading.

Plus, I’m a huge fan of trivia, scavenger hunts, mysteries... so The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest was a natural fit. I would’ve been all over this when I was younger. Trivia fans... unite!

Q: What exactly is The Hunt?

Kay: The Hunt is a brand-new, super easy, totally FREE library outreach program for teen and youth librarians. The program is open to librarians in the U.S. and Canada, in public libraries and school libraries alike. It offers year-round free programming that’ll keep readers coming back to the library for more.

Over 120 YA and middle grades authors have created a 10-question scavenger hunt (i.e. super fun trivia quiz) for one or more of their books. Scavenger hunts include questions like “What was the color of Moe’s hideous car?” or “What is Gemma’s favorite comfort food?” Every scavenger hunt also has a special note from the author to give it a personal touch.

Q: How does The Hunt work?

Kay: Once librarians register their library, their readers (called hunters) are eligible to participate. Hunters can check out the list of more than 200 titles in The Hunt, read the book of their choice, complete the scavenger hunt, and turn it in to their librarian. The librarian checks the answers against the quick answer key. If the hunter gets at least 8 out of 10 answers correct, the librarian can enter the hunter in the monthly contest. (NOTE: All scavenger hunts must be submitted to a participating librarian in order to be eligible for the contest. Participating librarians may enter hunters via the official contest entry form.)

Q: And thus, the prizes! What kinds of prizes do you have and how can people win?

Kay: Every month, I’ll choose one lucky hunter as the winner. The winning hunter will receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card (good in stores or online) to use for whatever their heart desires. Even better? When a hunter wins, the host library wins too… a library prize tote filled with more terrific scavenger hunt books for the library’s collection. It’s a win-win!

Q: Definitely a win! So, tell me more about your upcoming YA debut. When will hunters see a scavenger hunt for it in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest?

Kay: My debut novel, The Cinderella Society, is the first in a new YA series. The series takes readers behind the veil of a secret society of extraordinary girls where ultimate life makeovers are the main attraction. Lifelong outsider Jess Parker thinks life on the inside is her ultimate fantasy until she discovers the real force behind her exclusive society. It’s a battle of good vs. evil played out on the high school battlefield, and the Cindys in power need Jess on special assignment. When the mission threatens to destroy her dream life come true, Jess is forced to choose between living a fairy tale and honoring the Sisterhood… and herself.

The Cinderella Society will be an April 2010 release from Egmont USA with book two in the series to follow in Spring 2011. I’m very excited about sharing a scavenger hunt of my own in The Hunt. Come on, next April!

***
Kay: Now, let me turn the tables on you for a minute. :-) First of all, thank you so much for participating in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest. If it weren’t for authors like you, The Hunt couldn’t exist. Authors are incredibly busy people, so I owe a debt of gratitude to each of the authors (like you!) who graciously volunteered their time to create a scavenger hunt.

Q: What made you take time out of your busy schedule to participate in The Hunt?'

Tina: I am very impressed with this program, and wanted to give it my support.

Kelly: Yes, it's an awesome program and we at YA Fresh support positive reading!

Q: How did you decide which book(s) to create a scavenger hunt for?

Tina: I went with all three of mine because from the reader feedback I receive, different readers find different ones to be their "favorite."

Kelly: I chose Graffiti Girl because I felt it would appeal more to the middle grade to teen reader.

Q: Do you think you would’ve wanted to be a hunter when you were younger?

Tina: You know it! I was ALL about the library I was growing up...and still am, as a matter of fact!

Kelly: Definitely! :) Way to go, Kay!

2008 Golden Heart winner Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. Kay is a former college cheerleader and sorority girl, an M.B.A. and a member of Mensa. She thinks it's comical when people are surprised to discover those things aren't mutually exclusive. Kay is a seasoned professional trainer and former leadership development specialist who enjoys teaching motivational workshops around the country. She is also the founder and host of The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest, a national library outreach program that provides year-round free programming for teen and youth librarians. THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY is her first novel. Visit Kay on the web at www.kaycassidy.com.

Children's Book Week 2009!

In case you didn't know... this week is Children's Book Week!



Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes-any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated children's books and the love of reading with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other book related events.

It all began with the idea that children's books can change lives. In 1913, Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the country to promote higher standards in children's books. He proposed creating a Children's Book Week, which would be supported by all interested groups: publishers, booksellers, and librarians.

And with every book week, there are Children's Book nominees where kids, teens, and teachers/librarians get to vote for their favorite books of the year. Here are this year's winners!

K - 2nd ~ The Pigeon Wants A Puppy by Mo Willems

3rd - 4th ~ Spooky Cemeteries by Dinah Williams

5th - 6th ~ Thirteen by Lauren Myracle

Teen Choice Book of the Year ~ Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Author of the Year ~ Stephenie Meyer for Breaking Dawn

Illustrator of the Year ~ Jon J. Muth for Zen Ties
Congrats to the winners and I hope everyone enjoys their Children's Book Week by reading wonderful books!

~kelly :)

Caption It! Winner

I want to thank everybody who entered this contest. I think it was the toughest competition of all...SO many funny ones! But my panel (composed of my son and me) unanimously chose the same caption.

Submitted by Brooke Taylor, it is:
"Stop looking at my butt."

Because that's, of course, exactly where your eyes go in an astonishing, "How can he DO that?"

And for the record, a version of that line appears as an ill-fated pick-up line in my book, How to Hook a Hottie. So for me, it had added significance!

Brooke, please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com, and we'll discuss your prize!

Caption It!

We haven’t done one of our Caption It! contests in a while, and I for one, miss them! So without further adieu...


This picture isn’t from an e-mail forward or the internet, but from my own camera. This little cutie is the BFF of my cat. Okay, OF (only friend) but why split hairs? He likes to visit, and we’re always happy to have him.

I simply can’t get over the way he sits (can a cat be double-jointed?) and when I showed this picture to Kelly, she agreed our readers might enjoy it, too.

As always, I’ll start break the ice with a first caption:

“Bellying up to the bar for a saucer of milk.”

I know YOU can do better than that! And if you’re the one who makes me laugh the hardest and are declared the winner, you can choose from one of my three books as a prize. If you’ve already read them (hey, it could happen!), I can offer up your choice of some gently-used favorites from my own shelf. Sound good?

Now get to thinking...and get to typing!

The contest starts NOW and concludes on Wednesday night, May 13th at 7:00 pm PST. Winner announced on Thursday!

Good luck!

Thanks To All Who Entered!

Our contest to win a copy of Cindy Martinusen-Coloma's book, RUBY UNSCRIPTED is now over. And that winner is:

GIRLFORCHRIST

GirlForChrist, please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com with your contact information and we'll get it right on it!

Thanks to all who entered, and keep coming back to visit us for fresh fun and more giveaways!

Ruby, Unscripted Giveaway!

We are pleased to welcome Cindy Martinusen-Coloma and to talk to her about her life, and her newest book, Ruby Unscripted,

Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

As a child and teenager, I’d make up stories in my head at night with some continuing for weeks or months. I still do this if I can’t sleep, but then I try waking up to write the ideas down.
I started my first novel at age 12. The book was about a girl and her friends seeking underwater treasure. It was very much an Indiana "Jane" type story, and yes, I was the lead in my own story (though with a different name).
Writing was one of many things I wanted to do. Mainly I wanted to be an archeologist or an actress. But as a writer, I’m an archeologist digging up a story and also like an actress playing different roles on the page. I get to live many lives and experiences through the characters.

When I was just out of high school, I became more serious about my writing. It sort of clicked that this was my calling.

My first sale was a play that I wrote and produced for my church. I was so excited! But after that early success, there were years of rejection. I’ve kept most of those rejection letters so that I could further triumph when I received the acceptances. I still have that file and I show it to my writer’s group sometimes.

My first novel sale in 1998 came 8 years after I started pursuing writing and publication. With it, two dreams came true -- my first published novel and the chance to go to Europe (I spent my advance on two research trips to Europe).

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.

I'd love to say that I have a "typical" writing schedule. I’m always trying to work on my discipline. Many writers, myself included, are natural procrastinators. And our creative natures make it hard to do the same exact thing consistently -- or that might be my excuse.

Mornings and late night are my best writing times. A few weeks ago, I was getting up at 3 or 4AM. This worked great, but I’m a natural night owl so I like working until 3 AM usually. This doesn’t work well with the family schedule however. So you can see my dilemma.

Lately, my husband and I have grabbed onto the joys of working at a coffeehouse 2-3 days a week (he’s a web developer and an aspiring writer). I get a lot done when I’m away from the house. I also enjoy the “characters” that come in, the conversations I sometimes overhear, and of course, the coffee!

I set daily word count goals (like 2,000 a day). But when a deadline is approaching, I'll work up to 15 hours a day. Then after the book is done, I have to catch up with life – reorganize the house, do more activities with the family, exercise and catch up with my neglected girlfriends.

Typical? I’m still trying to find that.

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

I’m very excited about this new novel – my first Y/A to be released.

Ruby Unscripted is about a girl who moves from her small conservative hometown in California to an affluent town near San Francisco. It’s a different culture for her. And while it’s a dream come true in many ways, Ruby’s life is suddenly torn in two.

Ruby’s parents are divorced and both remarried with her father still living in her hometown. All of her friends are back home, and the guy she liked for a long time finally says that he likes her too – once she moved away (talk about typical!). There are a lot of exciting things in Marin County, but Ruby struggles to find her place among the wealthy and sophisticated people at her school. She works in her aunt’s coffeehouse/cinema, which includes a lot of foibles and interesting characters – one is a good-looking, mysterious guy who is part of the amateur filmmaking scene.

The characters of Ruby, her little brother Mac, and older brother Carson are definitely inspired by the personalities of my daughter and two sons. The story isn’t about them, but the personalities are definitely similar. That was really fun to write. My youngest son now wants a book written solely about him (the Mac character).

Ruby’s journey includes how we all seek to find “our art” and the challenges of going after our dreams.

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

Coming very soon (November), I have another Y/A novel called Beautiful. The novel is about two teen sisters who are complete opposites –Ellie has everything going for her and Megan is much more withdrawn and alone. When a tragedy occurs, the sister’s lives are irrevocably changed. They each have to make some hard decisions about what they want out of life, who they are to one another and what they each believe. They both must explore in their own ways what “being beautiful” is really about.

Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Belief, hard work and perseverance.

Many talented people waste their gifts because they lack these three elements.

My main advice for both aspiring and professional writers is for them to develop strong belief (in their writing and in God), work hard (the hard work never ends in writing), and keep going through rejections, criticism, late nights and characters who come to life and change your book completely.

Thanks so much for joining us here, and wishing you big success with this new book!

For our readers who'd like a chance to win a copy of Ruby, Unscripted, please leave a comment between NOW and Sunday, May 10 at 7 pm PST, to be entered. Best of luck!

What's Fresh with Lucienne Diver's Vamped!

Gina Covello's Perks and Pitfalls of Vamp Life
1. Hello?! Eternal youth and beauty!
2. Free. Designer. Clothes.
3. My hot new boyfriend Bobby went from chess dud to vamp stud.
4. No reflection! First order of business: turn my own stylist to stop the downward spiral from chic to eek.
5. Vampire vixen Mellisande has taken an interest in my boyfriend, and is now transforming the entire high school into her own personal vampire army. If anyone's going to start their own undead entourage it should be me.
I guess I'll just have to save everyone from fashion disasters and other fates worse than death.

Hello Lucienne, it is so great to have you with us! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Lucienne: I wrote my first novel in fifth grade for a class assignment. It was supposed to be a short story, but came out to over a hundred pages. That was my first inkling that I might want to be a writer. My very first sale was a short story called “The Problem with Piskies.” Quantum Barbarian Magazine was having a contest and my story came in third. There was a contract and a check, publication and everything. Sadly, the issue “The Problem with Piskies” appeared in was also the last. I swear there’s no connection. It wasn’t long after that my first novel sold, PLAYING NICE, a romantic comedy written under my pseudonym Kit Daniels. Unfortunately, no one was looking for rom com at the time and it ended up selling to a small press, Five Star, for their Expressions line, which is still going strong, proving that I’m not the kiss of death, after all!

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.

Lucienne: I wake up at 5:30 a.m. (before my inner editor) so that I can just channel my characters, which sounds strange, I know but if I wait until my brain is fully engaged, I’m thinking about all the letters I have to write that day, the checks I have to chase, the contract language I have to haggle…. It’s all too distracting. Another oddity – I can’t write creatively in front of a computer. Instead, I write everything out in freehand first and then type it in and save. In the process of typing, I revise so that what makes it into my Word doc is more of a second draft. Of course, there are still third, fourth, fifth and sometimes more drafts, where I then have to wrest the story back from my run-away characters!

Please tell us about your novel VAMPED and what we can expect from your characters.

Lucienne: Vamped (Flux, May 1, 2009) is my very first young adult novel. I’m really in love with this one. Gina, my heroine, just started talking in my head one day, and it was either writer her out or go insane. Gina is a teen fashionista who goes from chic to eek when she’s turned to the dark side by the class chess champ turned vampire hottie she ended up necking with at the after-prom party. Now she’s left to claw her way out of the grave only to find herself cursed with eternal life without tanning options and no way to fix her make-up! As if all that’s not bad enough, her new boyfriend’s siress, vampire vixen Mellisande, wants him for herself to fulfill some kind of prophecy. She’s also been collecting Gina’s former classmates to form her own undead army. Well, if anyone’s going to have minions, it’s Gina! In order to climb her way back up the social ladder, all she has to do is win the guy, defeat the gal and save her friends from fashion disasters and other fates worse than death.

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

Lucienne: I’m working on a middle grade idea set in New York City right now, featuring a latch-key kid who gets involved with some strange goings-on. I have this weird not-wanting-to-jinx myself thing about saying any more.

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

Lucienne: Everyone’s path to publication is different, and you’ll make yourself crazy doing constant comparisons. In college, I had the Desiderata posted on my wall. It truly has words to live by, including, “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater or lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.” Incredibly relevant today. Focus on what you can do and how you can do it better. The rest is wasted energy.

Lucienne Diver is a long-time book addict who went to work for NYC’s Spectrum Literary Agency fifteen years ago to feed her habit. Recently, she traded in her high-rise for a lake view. She now lives in Florida and works for The Knight Agency . Through various play-dates and in various coffee bars, on the backs of envelopes, carry-out bags and anything else within reach, including, sometimes, her checkbook, she’s penned the serio-comic tale of what happens when a young fashionista goes from chic to eek. Visit her website, www.luciennediver.com.

Are you a Writer? And if not, there's still more...

If you're a writer...check out the 5th Annual Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction for Diabetes Research!

Tina and I are donating a double critique of your partial manuscript!

Here are the deets:

Young adult authors and RWA RITA finalists Kelly Parra and Tina Ferraro will critique your partial manuscript!

Submission must be made within 6 months of close of auction (November 30, 2009)

Kelly and Tina have been published in both short and novel length fiction and have donated their time to many writing contests over the years. The authors will provide experienced and helpful suggestions to your novel/work-in-progress. The critique will include the first 50 pages (Word document) of any young adult, middle grade, or sweet romance. Notes and suggestions will be noted on the document and sent through e-mail.

If you're interested, you can place a bid here.

Visit http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/ for all the wonderful donations for such a worthy cause--from once in a lifetime opportunities to jewelry, books, and meetings with editors, agents and authors. 

Have fun and Happy Bidding!

Our Quest Crew Winner Is...

Congratulations to:

YAN!

who is the winner of a Quest Crew t-shirt, autographed picture, and "something else," which turns out to be an autographed copy of my latest book, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys.

And the reason for the add-on is because the Quest Crew guys were cool enough to share with us their favorite kisses!

Ryan:
“A kiss right after performing on stage
is what really makes me feel like a winner.”

Dominic – AKA “D-Trix”:
“A kiss before I dream through the night...”


Hok:
“A sweet kiss before I go up on stage is always the best.”

Steve:
“I love a little lip smacker right after a performance.”

Feng:
“I love peck, right before I go to bed…”

Victor:
“My favorite is after a long rehearsal.
There's nothing better to come home to than a kiss.”

Thanks to all who entered this weekend's contest, and to the ultra-cool Quest Crew guys for dropping by, sharing some moves and some smooches!

Quest Crew Giveaway!

Recently I connected with the publicist for Quest Crew, the dance team who had won MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Even though dancing isn't something we normally chat about here at YA Fresh, I thought our readers might like to hear more about this interesting group.

And here’s the kicker: just two days before at a family gathering, I’d heard from some teens about the show--and Quest Crew, in particular. They'd even played a YouTube video for me.

I’d agreed Quest Crew was talented and eye-catching, and had sort of put it in the back of my brain to watch the show sometime.

So...if you happen to be among those people (like me) who don't watch the show, who haven't see their smooth moves, now's your chance!

Quest Crew



I'm sure you'll agree they're something to see!

Now, if you leave a comment below, you’ll be entered to win a (medium sized) Quest Crew t-shirt, a personalized autographed picture of the crew--and a surprise "something else," too!

The winner of the Quest Crew contest will be announced on Monday, at which time we’ll also reveal members of Quest Crew’s favorite kisses. (Uh-huh, uh-huh, you can call it The ABC’s of Kissing Quest Crew Boys!)

The contest starts NOW, and ends Sunday night at 7:00 PM PST. GO!!!