What's Fresh with Sara Hantz's In The Blood

For seventeen years, Jed Franklin’s life was normal. Then his father was charged with the abuse and murder of four young boys and normal became a nightmare. His mom’s practically a walking zombie, he’s lost most of his friends, and the press camps out on his lawn. The only things that keep him sane are his little sis; his best friend and dream girl, Summer; and the alcohol he stashes in his room. But after Jed wakes up from a total blackout to discover a local kid has gone missing—a kid he was last seen talking to—he’s forced to face his greatest fear: that he could somehow be responsible.

In a life that’s spiraled out of control, Jed must decide if he chooses his own destiny with Summer by his side or if the violent urges that plagued his father are truly in the blood. . .

Hi Sara, so great to chat with you again! What was the main inspiration for In the Blood?

Sara: If ever I read or watched about some horrific crime committed I would always wonder how it affected the perpetrator’s family and what happened to them. The idea for my book just grew from that.

Who would you cast if your book was made into a movie?

Sara: Jed: Paul Wesley (although he’s maybe a bit too old), Summer: Ellen Page

How do you stay focused when writing?

Sara: I don’t! I have the attention span of a gnat, plus I write while working in our business which means constant phone calls and interruptions.

Best of luck, Sara! Let's close with what are you working on for us next?

Sara: My next book is Will The Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up and is about an introverted girl who ends up being a stunt girl for a wild teen movie star.

Sara Hantz originally comes from the UK and is one of four children, having three younger brothers. Although she was an avid reader from a very early age, she didn't get the writing bug until much later in life, though English was always one of her stronger subjects. She's an avid sun chaser and now lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Australia (via 10 years in New Zealand). Sara lectured for many years before deciding to devote more time to her writing and working in the family hospitality business. She has two grown-up children and when not writing, working, or online with her friends, she spends more time than most people she knows watching TV - in fact if TV watching was an Olympic sport she'd win gold. Sara’s books: In The Blood, The Second Virginity of Suzy Green and Will The Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up (due out May 2014).Visit her website, www.sarahantz.com.

What's Fresh with Jenny Peterson's Creature Discomforts

Best friends Rachel and Kendra are well past ready for things to go back to normal … or as normal as it can get for a demon hunter and a half-mermaid. College is supposed to be about study sessions and sneaking beer, not fighting monsters, right? But when girls on campus start disappearing, Rachel, Kendra and cute fellow demon hunter/annoyance extraordinaire Sid begin investigating. The closer they get to the truth, the more they realize there’s something hiding in the Georgia mountains that is much older and deadlier than your everyday demon. Forget studying for finals, these three will need to fight just to survive.

The first in the digital novella Descendants trilogy following Rachel and Kendra's adventures in college, romance, and kicking monster butt. Peterson first started the storyline in PROM DATES TO DIE FOR and SOMETHING WICKED anthologies and readers begged for more. Look for EAT YOUR HEART OUT in Spring 2014.

Thanks for visiting us on YA Fresh, Jenny! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first publication?

Jenny: I’ve always been a writer—from the NEVER-ENDING STORY rip-off I wrote in fourth grade to the fairly elaborate stories I told my sister to freak her out. (Example: A man-eating sea bass named Murray lived in our lake.) My degree is in journalism, and I really enjoyed working at a paper as my creative outlet. But then! I had this idea for a novel hit me out of the blue one day in my mid-20s. Just bam! And I knew I had to write it. But writing fiction and telling people I was writing fiction are two very different beasts. I wrote that novel in absolute secrecy, and it was seriously years before I admitted to people I was trying to become an author. Obviously, I’m over that now. (That first novel went nowhere and was a bit of a mess, but we have to start somewhere, right?)

Readers 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.

Jenny: So I moved to Denver a couple years ago and decided to try the author/editor thing full time. I split my time between writing fiction and editing for Month9Books, a YA publisher. One thing about working freelance is being crazy organized. I have lists and calendars and precise time-management goals. But I kind of love being so organized. (Yay for Type As!) In a normal day, I juggle editing for half the day with fiction projects the other half: my novella trilogy for Buzz Books, a steampunk novel that’s in its third draft, and a reality-hopping sci-fi serial called THE INBETWEEN being released in installments through JukePop Serials. So I’m not just staring at a wall and holding elaborate conversations with my two cats, I often decamp to local coffee shops. This also has the added bonus of keeping me from reading gossip blogs (my weakness) all day.

Please tell us about CREATURE DISCOMFORTS and what we can expect from your characters.

Jenny: In CREATURE DISCOMFORTS, I continue the story I started in two shorts for Buzz Books. Best friends and college freshman Rachel and Kendra are well past ready for things to go back to normal … or as normal as it can get for a demon hunter and a half-mermaid. But when girls on campus start disappearing, Rachel, Kendra and fellow demon hunter/annoyance extraordinaire Sid begin investigating. The closer they get to the truth, the more they realize there’s something hiding in the Georgia mountains that is much older and deadlier than your everyday demon. Forget studying for finals, these three will need to fight just to survive.

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

Jenny: The Descendants trilogy continues in EAT YOUR HEART OUT, slated to release in spring 2014. In it, Rachel, Kendra and Sid are facing a big bad that’s got some creepy talents and gross eating habits. You can read more about the next novella and the Descendants on the series website.

Jenny is a writer and editor based in Denver, CO. Reading and writing YA and new adult is her first love, and she spends an inordinate amount of time dreaming up fantastical worlds for kick-ass heroines. She also splits her time as an assistant editor for a YA publisher. The Descendants Series, her e-novella trilogy, is being released by indie publisher Buzz Books USA. When not writing or editing, she enjoys exploring the mountains and lakes of Colorado, shopping local, dominating at trivia and traveling. She lives in an old Victorian house with her husband and two lazy tabbies named after Harry Potter characters. Learn more about Jenny, her writing and travels at www.jennycoonpeterson.com. Or, you can follow her on Twitter @JenC_P, Facebook, Goodreads, or even Pinterest. Happy reading!

PROM DATES and STORYGRAMS

Guess what? So you know about my recent novella SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS with teen monster hunters Jaz & Blake? Well, their debut short story, "Darkness Becomes Him" in the fun and spooky anthology PROM DATES TO DIE FOR is free for Kindle! So get it while you can, the promo will run through the weekend!

The anthology includes these great stories:

A Night They'll Never Forget. Five young adult authors cordially invite readers to five proms with a paranormal twist: In Kelly Parra's "Darkness Becomes Him," teen supernatural hunters are hired to save a prom date hungry for souls. Heather Dearly introduces us to a young reaper haunted by a past she doesn't remember in "The Bone Flower." A prom queen seeks justice and revenge in Lena Brown's, "Every Breath You Take." Aaron Smith gives us a loner musician called to save his classmates from an enemy only he can see in "A Kiss at the Threshold." -Jenny Peterson's heroine gets much more than she wished for on her prom night and 18th birthday in "Tonight, You're Mine." Frightful, fun and unforgettable.

I thought I would end the week with some of the fun promo we created for SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS...

Meet Jaz & Blake, well, their storygrams...

I really enjoyed making these, just a small visual on their characters. You can find storygrams for Oz and Marco on my Facebook page.

Buzz Books put together this fun trailer in Jaz's POV as she hunts for a ghoul in a cemetery! Thanks for letting me share! Have a great weekend!

Join me for the Launch of SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS!

Hi YA Freshers!

I'd like to invite you to two special occasions...

"Just the right combination of butt-kicking and romance to keep you on the edge of your seat." —Allison van Diepen, The Vampire Stalker

Supernatural teen hunters and kick-butt couple Jaz and Blake get trouble in their own backyard, the graveyard, when a ghoul is on the loose and looking for fresh meat. When a teen hunter on the verge of death arrives at their doorstep, they realize a much greater evil is upon them.

Jaz is satisfied with their makeshift foster family and fighting monsters, but Blake yearns for adventure and the truth about his biological family. Will Blake leave Jaz to search for something more...and to fend for herself? Can a relationship survive when death is lurking just beyond the gravestones?

SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS is the first novella to follow Jaz and Blake's whirlwind, action-packed romance started in PROM DATES TO DIE FOR and SOMETHING WICKED. With an eye for great dialogue and fight scenes, SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS is a fast-paced, fun read.

1) Today is the official release of my novella SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS!

I just want to share my excitement with you! For the past couple of years, I have been writing short fiction. It gave me a break from writing a full-length novel and it was fun! When I decided to create Jaz and Blake (my monster-fighting teen duo) I didn't worry about pressures or plot lines, just wrote for the joy of it. Jaz and Blake were born in their first short story together titled "Darkness Becomes Him" in the PROM DATES TO DIE FOR anthology. But Jaz and Blake were not ready to be laid to rest in their world of fighting monsters, they wanted to keep sharing their adventures with you. They wanted to fight merpeople in the story, "Mermania" in the SOMETHING WICKED anthology. I thought that might be it for them but alas, they wouldn't stop whispering in my ear. They wanted a longer story. They wanted a novella to battle ghouls and a wicked necromancer. Just to assure you, each story is a standalone. You can read the first chapter on Amazon and a cool extra scene on my website. I would love for you to download a copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

2) Not only is SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS officially releasing today, but Buzz Books is throwing a fantastic on-line launch party on Facebook and all of you are invited! Just click join and you'll be entered into winning some fun prizes...

SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS is the first full-length novella to follow Jaz and Blake's whirlwind, butt-kicking romance started in PROM DATES TO DIE FOR and SOMETHING WICKED. (The story still stands alone for new readers.) JOIN the launch party for giveaways all day long including copies of PD2D4, SW and Jenny Peterson's upcoming YA fantasy, CREATURE DISCOMFORTS as well as Diana Rodriguez Wallach's NARA GAZING Mythology High story.

BUY SUPERNATURAL HUNTERS ON 10/1 for a chance to win a Kindle on Halloween! ($79 value). Email receipt to buzzbooksusa (at) me (dot) com.

Thank you for letting me share with you! I hope to chat with you on-line at the launch party. Come join to win, win, win!

Tina and Kelly Talk Kindle!

Many of you know that Amazon has released their own electronic book reader called a Kindle.

In recent months, we have both bought Kindles. Tina ordered hers last fall, and Kelly got hers up after the new year in what turned out to be the newer version, or Kindle 2.

We’ve been meaning to talk to about Kindles, their differences and similarities, and decided YA Fresh was *the place* for that convo (since YA Fresh is *the place* for everything YA book-related, huh?)

Tina: Hey, Kel!
Kelly: Hi Tina!

Tina: I’ve been aware of electronic books and electronic reading devices for years, have had several friends who have loved them, but never thought they’d be for me. Until I learned our books were being released on Kindle. And then it felt like a must-have.
Kelly: I had heard about e-book readers as well, but became really interested when my lit agent got her Kindle and was thrilled with it. I really wanted to check out e-book readers. So from there I went on my own e-reader search. The Kindle was high-priced, not to mention out of stock by the time I gathered the funds. I also checked out the Sony reader but it wasn’t compatible with my Mac! Ugh. The Kindle had that cool convenience of whispernet, straight to my Kindle whenever I wanted, instead of having to hook up to my Mac for download. But alas, I had to wait…

Tina: I ordered mine in early November. From what I heard, Amazon was inundated with orders, and had I waited another week, I wouldn’t have been able to get one for Christmas. I felt pretty lucky. And it was fun to open it on Christmas eve and go to the website and download my books.
Kelly: Yes, that’s so fun! I got mine the week they released the Kindle 2 in February. I’ve discovered the downside of owning a Kindle, you can pretty much only read Amazon-sold books on it, but I really like that I can also read docs and pdfs once I get them converted, which lets me read my author friends’ files!

Tina: Another thing I like about the Kindle is that I can change the font size--and I do, depending on how tired my eyes are. It helps keep the pages turning for me.

Kelly: I do like that feature, plus there is also experimental features on the Kindle2 such as internet access and an MP3 player!

Tina: My only complaint has been that the page turn bars run so long on each side on my Kindle that I sometimes accidentally turn pages.

I actually addressed this with their Customer Service, and was told it would be corrected in Kindle 2. I’ve looked at the picture on the website and see you’ve got more free hand space. So your wait was worth it!


Kelly: I think that would have irritated me too. I’m happy with the Kindle 2. I wonder what the “K3” will be like… :)

Tina: Who knows , I might end up buying one?

So, turning the discussion to our readers now. Do any of you have Kindles or want them or have thoughts or questions to share?

And for those of you interested in checking out our books in Kindle format, here are the links:

Graffiti Girl

Invisible Touch

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress

How to Hook a Hottie

The ABC’s of Kissing Boys