Grimm Diaries: Book Blitz

 I’m very happy to be a part of this book blitz hosted by Xpresso Reads, and I hope you’ll like my post! As part of the promotional tour, I have an excerpt from the book (below) as well as a giveaway.

ABOUT GRIMM DIARIES PREQUELS:

This Grimm Diaries Prequels are a number of short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. The diaries are more of teasers for the upcoming series: The Grimm Diaries, allowing you to get a glimpse of what to expect of the series. The first 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm
The first book in the Series will be out in February 2013, called SNOW WHITE SORROW. (Goodreads).

The Grimm Diaries, Volume 11-14

Synopsis:

10.5) Happy Valentine’s Slay by Wee Willy Winkie The real Sandman Grimm sheds a light on what happened in Jawigi, and tells about how some of the teens in Sorrow spend their Valentine’s Day.11) Children of Hamlin by the Devil The Devil tells the story of the Piper of Hamlin, who he really is, the historical events he witnessed, and his relationship to Ladle Rat. Most of all, why they call him the Black Death.12) Tooth & Nail & Fairy Tale by Jack Madly Jack Madly stole a sack full of baby teeth from Bluebeard’s enchanted castle, which reminds him of when he first met the Tooth Fairy when he was a child; a memory he wishes to forget.13) Ember in the Wind by the Little Match Girl All the Little Match Girl wants is to sell her matches so she uses the money to eat and find  shelter from the cold. But no one in the cruel city of crowded London helps her. Eventually, she learns something about who she really is, and it changes her life forever.14) Jar of Hearts by the Queen of Sorrow The Queen of Sorrow, still trapped in the Dreamworld summons Cassandra, the fortuneteller, to ask her about the identities of Lost Seven. The problem with Cassandra is that she’s cursed that her predictions will never be believed. The Queen is still determined to believe her, but it will cost more than she can bargain for.

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17661963-the-grimm-diaries-volume-11-14

AUTHOR BIO

Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters. I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV – it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales.      I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.

Author Links:

Website: http://cameronjace.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camjace

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronjace

Excerpt from Snow White Blood Red

Dear Wilhelm Carl Grimm,

She is not that giddy, naïve, and helpless princess she pretends to be. Please don’t let her fool you with her innocence if you see her sing to the birds in the forest. Resist her charm from bringing joyful tears to your eyes, and shield yourself from her devious beauty before she deceives you into wanting to kiss her awake. It’ll  be a kiss of death. Your death. That’s how she fooled the Huntsman, Prince Charming, and me, her birth mother.

I still remember the original script of the fairy tale, the one you wrote in 1812. It clearly stated that she was my own flesh and blood daughter. I don’t have the slightest idea why you altered it fifty years later.

What was the point of turning me into an evil, narcissistic, and heartless stepmother, blinded by jealousy and envy of the young princess?

For years, I have been looking forward to telling you the truth about her, but you were impossible to reach.

I am glad I found your brother, Jacob. He told me that you wanted to tone the stories down so children could sleep better at night, instead of having nightmares about the Queen who sought to eat her daughter’s heart and liver.

Shame on you, Wilhelm.

You, of all authors, knew why I wanted to kill her. My actions were justified. I was trying to save my kingdom from her wrath, before everything we loved was destined to an end. The same way you had to rewrite the true fairytales after cursing us, so the War of Sorrows would end forever after.

Night after night, and year after year, parents fed their children false bedtime stories, until your lies grew into inescapable memories. Your happily ever after lies, Wilhelm, shaped the so called fairy tale world.

I wondered why you didn’t burn the original scripts, instead of rewriting them. You must have figured out that sooner or later someone would dig up the truth and expose you. Altering it was the smarter solution. You let children believe that the bites were resurrecting kisses, and that torturing glass coffins were made for sleeping beauties, waiting for a prince to come and kiss them awake.

A wise man once said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he was someone else. You did the same with us, Wilhelm. You turned us into pastiches of the immortals that we really are, and made it harder for us if wanted to persuade the world otherwise.

I know that you did it to save us from her. And I appreciate how you concealed our real names, or we would have ended up like Rumpelstiltskin, tortured by those who knew of his real name.

But sometimes, I can’t help but wonder why no one ever questioned why I was called the Evil Queen, and why I was never given a real name in the books.

Was I so superficial to the world, so stereotypical and mundane? Why was I treated as if I were the monster of the week?

You know what I think? I think that the world never got the time to hate me. It just wanted to hate me long before it met me.

If I tell those who detest me about the true nature of their little princess, would they ever care about me half as much as they care about her?

I know that deep inside, they adore me. They like the way I talk, walk, dress, and even the way I kill.

They are just afraid to admit how much they love me. I am the Snow White Queen, strong enough that I don’t need anyone’s pity or love, because I am loved by the greatest and most majestic heart in the world:

Mine.

GIVEAWAY

Open internationally

You can win one copy of each Grimm Diaries bundle.

Ends 11th Feb 2013

RULES:

• Leave a Blog Post Comment with your full name
• follow me by email

Winners will be chosen randomly via Random.org

The prizes will be sent in the week of April 15th.

Also, the first and second bundle will be 0.99 each from the 28th until the 31st.

1) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC
2 )http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC

GOOD LUCK!

Have a nice day,

Roxi

Reached – Ally Condie

Seria Legaminte are toate caracteristicile unei distopii YA: o fata frumoasa, Cassia, care intr-un final va juca un rol important in salvarea civilizatiei; un triunghi amoros care va sfida toate regulile impuse; o Putere (in cazul nostru Societatea) care controleaza vietile oamenilor de la cel mai mic aspect, si bineinteles: o Revolta pentru un happy ending.

Am ajuns la finalul acestei serii. Nu am putu sa astept pana va aparea la noi ultimul volum, asa ca l-am citit in engleza. Si bineeeee am facut. A fost FE-NO-ME-NAL!!!

Daca in primul volum, firul actiunii l-am putut privi din perspectiva Cassiei, o adolescenta naiva care se afla in cautarea liberatii, iar in al doilea volum a fost adaugata perspectiva lui Ky si prezentata supravietuirea celor doi in conditii drastice, acum a venit si randul lui Xander. Cele trei puncte de vedere  se imbina foarte frumos. M-am intrebat mereu ce simte Xander in legatura cu Ky si Cassia.

Cassia s-a schimbat mult in acest ultim volum. A devenit mai puternica si mai confidenta in fortele proprii. De asemenea si-a asumat riscuri pentru binele persoanelor iubite si nu numai.

Ca tot suntem la personaje, ei bine, pentru mine KY ramane favoritul. Motivele ar fi numeroase:  incercarile prin care a trecut, statutul pe care il are, sau pur si simplu modul in care actioneaza.

Actiunea acestui volum are multe urcusuri si coborasuri. Ne aflam in plina revolta. Societatea a cazut din varful piramidei, iar Pilotul si adeptii acestuia i-au luat locul. Oamenii au fost infectati cu un virus, asemanator ciumei. Iar atunci cand salvarea ar fi trebuit sa vina din partea Pilotului, infectia a degenerat intr-o boala fara leac. Ei bine, sa nu credeti ca v-am spus toata actiunea cartii. Acesta mica parte formeaza doar intriga. Incepand cu aceasta situatie, parcursul firesc al actiunii va fi deviat , vor fi anihilate sperantele, si vor fi multe pierderi de vieti omenesti. Trebuie sa va pregatiti sufleteste sa va luati adio de la persoanele, pe care cu siguranta le-ati indragit de-a lungul celor trei volume.

Mi-a placut foarte mult si faptul ca au fost clarificate urmatoarele astecte: povestea Pilotului, natura celor 3 pastile oferite de Societate (verde, albastra si rosie), aventurile si modul de supravietuire al oamenilor din Canioane.

Finalul a fost oarecum previzibil. Nu o sa va spun cu cine sfarseste Cassia. Va las pe voi sa cititi si sa descoperiti. Sunt de parere ca Ally a ales foarte bine acest epilog si a planuit destine potrivite fiecarui protagonist in parte. Intr-un final lucrurile s-au echilibrat.

Volumul primeste nota 5/5.

Voi ati citit aceasta serie? Cum vi s-a parut finalul?

Va las mai jos trailerul cartii:

Leapsa

Am primit o leaspa de la Raluca, dar nu avut timp sa o fac pana acum. Tinand cont ca am mai rezolvat-o odata, voi raspunde doar la intrebarile ei si NU voi nominaliza mai departe! 😀

Acestea sunt:

1. Ce te atrage mai mult la o carte?

Pai ma atrag muuulte lucruri la o carte. In primul si primul rand, ar fi coperta. Am avut „norocul” sa nimeresc si carti proaste, dar cu coperti superbe. Iar apoi, ar fi descrierea. Daca ma entuziasmeaza destul de tare, urmatorul pas este achizitionarea sa.

2. Când te-ai hotărât să-ţi faci un blog şi care a fost motivaţia ta?

Am blogul de cateva luni. Insa, pana sa il infiintez, urmaream restul blogurilor care erau active. Asta m-a ambitionat intr-un fel sa imi fac si eu unul. Iar mai apoi, sa descopar un univers mai mare decat m-as fi asteptat si foarte placut. Mi-am facut noi prieteni cu ajutorul acestui blog. 😀

3. Numeşte un alt hobby în afară de blogging şi de lectură.

Ar fi fotografiatul (si editatul pozelor). Este o place vinovata. Abia astept sa se incalzeasca afara sa fac cateva sedinte frumoase. Poate va voi arata si pe blog cateva. In orice caz, puteti vedea aici cateva poze: http://www.facebook.com/RoxanaMPhotography?fref=ts

4. Care e locul tău preferat de citit?

De obicei citesc in pat, sub o paturica si o cana de cafea. Imi place sa citesc si pe plaja (atunci cand nu bate vantul) 😀

5. Ce părere ai de cărţile digitale?

Pana acum cateva luni, nu prea citeam carti digitale deoarece imi oboseau ochii. Acum insa, mi-am luat Kindle si pot spune ca le ador! Recomand oricui un ebook reader. Este o investitie buna.

6. Care era povestea ta preferată în copilărie?

Hmm…Alba ca Zapada si cei 7 pitici? :)))

7. Când nu îţi place o carte, o abandonezi sau te străduieşti să o termini?

Depinde…de obicei ma straduiesc sa le termin. Nu prea imi place sa las lucrurile neterminate, dar au fost destule cazuri in care le-am lasat balta.

8. Preferi să citeşti o singură carte o dată sau să începi mai multe şi să le alternezi?

Niciodata nu pot sa citesc o singura carte :)) Aproape constant am vreo 2-3 carti incepute. In prezent citesc vol 3 din Legaminte si volumul 4 din Cantec de Gheata si Foc.

9. Care e cartea care te-a făcut cel mai tare să plângi? Şi care te-a înveselit cel mai mult?

Am plans la destule carti. Cele mai recente ar fi Oscar si Tanti Roz si Climate.

10. Cu ce personaj literar crezi că te asemeni?

Voi trece peste aceasta intrebare :))

11. În afară de ficţiune, te mai atrag şi alte genuri de cărţi? (ex: lecturi motivaţionale, ghiduri,  dezvoltare personală, biografii, jurnale…)

Bineinteles. Imi citesc cu placere cartile de psiho si pe cele care dezvolta si dezbat anumite evenimente reale (vezi recenzie – Efectul Lucifer).

O zi frumoasa,

Roxi

In my mailbox #11

Ce faceti dragilor? Eu am cam ramas in pana de net zilele acestea, din cauza vremii. Profitand de ocazia revenirii acestuia, am spus sa va arat repede ce mi-am mai achizitionat!

Avem:

CUMPARATE:

Uratii si Frumosii de Scott Westerfeld

Spulbera-ma de Tahereh Mafi

Num3re de Rachel Ward

CASTIGATE:

Frumosii de Scott Westerfeld – Uitasem ca am castigat cartea pe blogul Sabinei, si mi-am cumparat-o. Mi-am adus aminte in momentul in care am primit pachetul! Asa ca, m-am ales cu 2 exemplare :))

LA SCHIMB:

Evermore de Alyson Noel

PRIMITE:

Article 5 si Breaking Point de Kristen Simmons – Thank youuu!

Lies Love Tells de Gina Dickerson – Thank you!

2 postcard-uri cu Hemmingway’s Girl – Thank you Erika

 6 postcard-uri cu The Vanishing of Katharina Linden – Thank you Helen

Si o poza de final:

Voi ce ati mai primit/cumparat/schimbat etc?? Sa aveti o zi frumoasa!

Diana Nixon – Love Lines – First Birthday Celebrations

I’m very happy to be a part of this blog tour and I hope you’ll like my interview with Diana Nixon, the author of  Love Lines.

INTERVIEW

1. Hello Diana! Thank you for granting me this interview. I’d like to talk first about Love Lines. How did this story come into being?  Love Lines was my debut fantasy novel. When I started writing it, I wasn’t thinking about the series of books. But when I realized that one book wasn’t enough for the amount of ideas I had in my head, I turned LL into a series of novels:) The main thing that I wanted to show writing LL was the beauty of love and those emotions that overwhelm you when you are in love. In addition, I wanted to create a fantasy world where everything would be magical. I like creating complicated plots where everything is not what it seems. That’s why my Love Lines series if full of mysteries, adventures and secrets. I like when readers say that my books are unique, that they are not like many other stories of the same genre. And it inspires me to create something new:)
2. What was the most challenging aspect of creating this character of Eileen Clark? The biggest challenge in creating Eileen was her inner world and character. I didn’t want her to be weak or insecure. I wanted her to be strong and brave, and sure about everything she did. It was hard to strike the right balance between being strong and annoyingly self-confident, but I hope I did a good job:) Despite the fact that two characters tell the story, Eileen is the main narrator, who is supposed to attract readers’ attention and make them want to read more.
3. How did you approach the research needed for these books? There were a few things I needed to work on before writing a book. For example I used flowers to describe people’s emotions and thoughts. I looked through a few books and articles explaining their meaning to be more accurate in my words. I also needed some information about people’s auras, British landscape and weather.
4. What are your current/future projects?  At the moment I’m working on the LL next book named Diamond Sky and a new series, or to be exact a trilogy about the guardian angels. My editor thinks I should try writing a contemporary romance, so maybe I will follow her advice and write one:)
5. If you had to be one of your protagonists, who would it be?  It’s a good question. Can I say I would like to be Evan Murray?:) Apart from being my favorite character he’s an example of everything I would never dare to do or say. He’s very brave and strong and he never gives up. He’s an optimist just like me, but unlike me it’s almost impossible to discourage him.
6. Who are your favourite writers and why? There are many writers whose books I like to read. For example now I can’t wait to get the second book of the Beautiful series by Jamie McGuire and Reckless by S.C. Stephens:)
7. What was the book that most influenced your life — and why? I don’t know. Really:) I’ve became a fantasy author because I like reading fantasy stories. And there were many of them I liked a lot. From Twilight and Hush Hush to Harry Potter.
8. What are your 5 favorite books —and why? Can I name my own books? Just kidding:) Okay so let it be Breaking Down by Stephanie Mayer, Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick,  Evernight by Claudia Grey and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. All of them left something special inside my heart:)
9. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career as an author? Writing itself:) Everything about it is a challenge, from creating characters and gathering ideas for a new book to proofreading and publishing. Every on these aspects have some difficulties we face every day.
10. Describe your writing room. I can describe it in one word – kitchen!:) Yes, it’s my favorite place to write. When I wake up in the morning, I go to the kitchen, make a cup of coffee, open my notebook and start checking my e-mail and Facebook. When I go to get another cup of coffee my writing part of the day begins:) But when it’s summer outside, I like working on a terrace.
11. Take us through a typical day in the life of Diana Nixon. So I have already told you how my morning starts – with a cup of coffee. They say that life starts after coffee, so yes, it’s about me:) Usually I write 1 or 2 chapters per day. And with the amount of e-mails, my little daughter’s playing I get to my books somewhere at noon and work on them for about three hours. There are days free of writing, but I hate them, because I can’t stay without work for too long:) My evenings I spend with my family, making diner and talking about the events of the day.
12. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thank you guys for everything! Your support, your amazing review and 5 stars ratings  make my days:) And it’s the best reward a writer can get. I hope you will enjoy reading my books and I will try to do my best to make them great:)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diana Nixon was born in Minsk, Belarus, where she still lives and works on her series. Before becoming a writer she received a Master of Law degree from Belorussian state University. She has always liked reading fantasy novels, so when she came up with the idea of writing a book, she already knew what genre to choose. At the moment Diana is working on her Love lines series.

Links: http://diananixon.webs.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Nixon/203165316483322?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianaNixon9

Buying books: http://diananixon.webs.com/buyingbooks.htm

ABOUT LOVE LINES

The traces of supernatural powers have always been crossing the world of human beings. Many people know about the existence of healers, mind readers, oneiromancers and wizards. But for centuries their lives have been kept secret and no one has ever heard about one special place, where those gifted people studied.
Neither has Eileen Clark, whose life has never been different from the one other teenagers have.
But one day everything changes. Eileen finds out that she belongs to the mysterious world of unnatural and the destiny leads her to Dever – a closed university for the people like her.

Nothing will ever be the same again…

New life, new friends, new enemies…

But the true love will never let her down. It will help to go through everything….

Diamond Sky (Love Lines, # 3): book trailer released!!!

Have a nice day,

Roxi

Raspantii – Ally Condie

Raspantii  reprezinta volumul 2 din trilogia Legaminte, scrisa de Ally Condie. Am citit cartea pe nerasuflate. M-am apucat ieri seara de ea, si nu am avut liniste pana nu am terminat-o. Nu m-am gandit ca actiunea ar putea lua o asemenea intorsatura. Cartea te atrage de la primele pagini.

Mi-a placut foarte mult faptul ca a fost scrisa din doua puncte de vedere: al Cassiei si al lui Ky. Astfel am putut intelege mai bine motivele si gandurile ce au stat la baza deciziilor luate de cei doi. De asemenea am putut afla mai multe amanunte privind povestea lui Ky. Amintirile acestuia sunt prezentate ca niste flashback-uri din vremurile „apuse”. Din vremurile in care Societatea nu isi manifesta inca puterea, iar Ky nu era clasificat o Aberatie.

La un moment dat, isi face si Xander aparitia in aceasta carte. Cu toate ca acesta nu ia parte la aventura celor doi (Cassia si Ky), ceea ce a fost dezvaluit despre el, m-a cam pus pe ganduri. Inca nu pot sa imi dau seama care ar fi mai potrivit pentru Cassia: Xander sau Ky?

Mi-au placut foarte mult si personajele secundare: In primul rand l-am adorat pe Eli – un pusti care fuge de  Societate alaturi de Ky. Este inocent, curios, si proaspat reclasificat ca o Aberatie. Nu ar fi avut nici cea mai mica sansa de supravietuire in Provinciile Exterioare si indeplinind noile conditii impuse de catre Societate.

O avem apoi pe Indie – o adolescenta si noua partenera (de calatorie) a Cassiei. Cele doua vor evada din Provinciile Exterioare si se vor aventura in Canioane si Vale. Cu toate ca, s-a dovedit de multe ori a fi de incredere, este totusi ceva „suspect” la ea care ma pune pe ganduri.

Plotul mi s-a parut destul de interesent. Avem actiune din plin, si ne sunt dezvaluite mai multe amanunte din istoria Societatii si de asemenea, cum a fost aceeasta infiintata. Inceputul volumului mi s-a parut fooooarte echivoc  si atroce: nu eram sigura daca nu citesc ceva de King sau Martin :)) Adica, are cateva amanunte prea explicate ce mi se par foarte foarte triste.  Insa, dupa vreo 50 de pagini, intelegi de ce Condie a fost nevoita sa apeleze la acele descrieri.

Dupa ce mi-am scris recenzia, am vrut sa vad ce cred si restul cititorilor. Si am ramas un pic socata: am vazut ca 3 sferturi din recenziile facute sunt negative. Sincer nu cred ca acest roman a fost chiar asa de infiorator. Intr-adevar, a fost un pic mai slab ca precedentul, dar pot sa spun ca a meritat din plin sa il citesc. Si acum va intreb pe voi: ati citit cartea? Ce impresie v-a lasat?

In concluzia ii voi da nota 5/5 si astept cu nerabdare sa ma apuc de volumul 3.

O zi frumoasa,

Roxi

Castigatori Daynight

Normal trebuia sa postez ieri castigatorii, dar am fost plecata din judet. Scuze pentru intarziere 😀

Castigatorii celor 2 carti sunt:

nr. 26

.

.

.

.

.

Pauna Oana

si nr. 10

.

.

.

.

.

Romina Doros

Felicitari! Astept adresele voastre pe mail, in decursul a 5 zile!

 

PS: va trebui sa mai aveti un pic de rabdare pentru acel mini-maraton de concursuri! Astept sa mai primesc cateva pachete, pentru a fi totul complet!!

O seara frumoasa,

Roxi

Prima noapte – Marc Levy

„Prima noapte” reprezinta continuarea cartii Prima zi, scrisa de Marc Levy. In acest roman ne este prezentata povestea lui Adrian si Keira si continuarea aventurii acestora in cautarea raspunsurile pe care le-au asteptat o viata intreaga.

Sincer, acest volum nu a mai avut acelasi impact ca precedentul. Ne afundam mai mult in enigme si teorii, consipiratii si asasinari. Protagonistii vor goni pe teritorii noi, ca Rusia, pentru a reveni apoi de unde au plecat. Nu stiu de ce, dar toata actiunea imi aminteste de romanele lui Dan Brown. Dupa lungi cercetari si riscuri asumate, cei doi reusesc sa descopere anumite certitudini, care, daca ar fi descoperite, ar rasturna credintele si valorile pe care a fost construita aceasta lume.

Avem aici o carte plina de aventuri si o calatorie plina de peripetii. Avem si un pic de romantism intre cei doi protagonisti, insa accentul nu este pus pe relatia acestora. Nu mi-a placut faptul ca personajele nu au fost foarte bine dezvoltate. Accentul a fost pus mai mult pe actiune.

Nu prea am ce sa va mai spun desprea ceasta carte fara a da spoilere. In concluzie, nu pot spune ca mi-a displacut. Am citit cu placere romanul deoarece eram foarte curioasa ce avea sa se intample dupa acel sfarsit coplesitor al primului volum. Am ramas un pic dezamagita de felul in care a dorit Levy sa iasa din acea situatie. Dar, in momentul in care reusesti sa treci peste acest lucru, in paginile ce urmeaza vei lua parte la o incursiune in fantastica lume a arheologiei si astronomiei.

Nota acordata este: 4/5

Mai jos, aveti citatul meu preferat din carte:

„Exista o legenda care spune ca un copil aflat in pantecele mamei cunoaste totul despre misterul Creatiei, de la inceputul lumii pana la sfarsitul timpului. La nastere, un mesager trece pe deasupra leaganului sau si-i pune un deget pe buze, ca sa nu dezvaluie niciodata taina care i-a fost incredintata: taina vietii. In urma degetul care sterge pe vecie amintirile copilului, ramane un semn. Acest semn il au toti oamenii, deasupra buzei superioare; toti, in afara de mine…..In ziua in care m-am nascut, mesagerul a uitat sa ma viziteze, de aceea, eu imi amintesc totul….” Interesant, nu? 😀

Aici aveti recenzia primul volum – „Prima zi”.

PS: pe seara anunt castigatorii!!

Castigatori Concurs Dezvoltarea turismului

Hei, ce faceti? Mai jos veti gasi castigatorii concursului Dezvoltarea turismului in Romania.

Lista participantilor este urmatoarea:

Primul castigator, cu numarul 6, este:

LUPSAN SABRINA

Al doilea castigator, cu numarul 10, este:

CLAUDIA

Felicitari! Astept datele voastre de livrare pe email  in termen de 5 zile!

 

O seara frumoasa,

Roxi

Interviu cu o autoare: Meet Amy Sparling !!

ABOUT AMY:

Amy Sparling is a Texas native with a passion for young adult literature. In her free time she participates in semi-professional ghost hunting excursions, attends nerd conventions and invents cooky games with her daughter. She has a full time job, a part time college career, and writes books in what little time is left in the day. Amy Sparling is a pen name.

INTERVIEW:

1.   Hello Amy! Thank you for granting me this interview. I’d like to talk first about your book Phantom Summer. How did this story come into being? Thanks so much for having me! This is my first official interview and I’m pretty excited about it. The story in Phantom Summer was inspired from a time when my sister and I decided to go „ghost hunting” in this 200 year old abandoned mansion we found in the middle of nowhere. (See picture) We didn’t see any ghosts, and the police showed up and kicked us out, but we did have fun looking through the ruins of what used to be a beautiful house. The experience inspired me to write about a girl who goes on real ghost hunting adventures.

2.  What was the most challenging aspect of creating this character of Taylor Gray? Taylor is broken because she recently lost her best friend and she feels responsible for his death. I’ve never been in that situation, and I’m lucky that I haven’t lost many people in my life, so I couldn’t relate. I had to spend a lot of time inside Taylor’s mind, trying to feel the emotions she was feeling in order to write them in the book.

3.  How did you approach the research needed for the book? This part was fun! Like I said earlier, the mansion we visited was a huge inspiration for the book. I also live on the coast of Texas, near Galveston island where many homes are over a hundred years old. My sister and I shadowed an actual ghost tour through the historical part of the island, and I took notes on what was fun about it and what could use improvement in my own story.

4.  What are your current/future projects? I have a fun novella called Summer Unplugged that I hope to publish this summer. It’s about a girl who gets grounded from her cell phone and computer because her mom thinks she’s too addicted to technology and social media. She then has to spend the whole summer with her grandparents who live out in the country. She thinks it’s going to suck, but then she meets the cute guy next door and, well.. you’ll have to read it to find out what happens. 🙂 Amy Sparling is actually my pen name for indie published books. My biggest project right now is a teenage superhero book called Powered. I’m working on revisions with an agent and we’re hoping to get traditionally published, but if that doesn’t work out then I will indie publish that as well. You can find more at my other website:www.cheyanneyoung.com

5.  If you had to be one of your protagonists, who would it be? That’s a hard question! But I’ll probably go with Maci Might from my superhero book, Powered. She’s a superhero after all…that’s pretty awesome.

6. Who are your favourite writers and why? 

RL Stine, because his Goosebumps and Fear Street books were like crack to me as a kid. I read every single one of them, and that turned me into a reader which eventually turned me into a writer. Plus he’s retweeted me on twitter a few times, which is totally awesome.

Sarah Dessen, because she writes amazing characters and stories. I’ve always wanted to be just like her, even though our writing styles are very different. I even named my daughter after Halley in her book Someone Like You.

John Green because he’s awesome in every way.

Jeaniene Frost because she writes the most kick-ass female protagonists. 

JK Rowling because Harry Potter shaped my entire life. I started reading the series when I was kid, and when I finished reading the series, I had my own kid.

7.  What was the book that most influenced your life — and why? The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. It’s a timeless book. It didn’t follow any of the „writing rules” that tell you how to create a perfect novel, and yet, it is the perfect novel. It’s the only book that I can read over and over again, and it reminds me what it feels like as a reader to read a real character and not some cookie cutter flat character.

8. What are your 5 favorite books —and why? 

• The Harry Potter series – because it’s perfect in every way.
• The Catcher in the Rye – as mentioned above
• The Fault in our Stars by John Green. That book hit me really hard. It felt like my heart had been ripped out for days after I read it.
• The Twilight Series – these books get made fun of a lot, but they got millions of people reading books when they otherwise wouldn’t. And anything that turns people into readers is good. Plus, I couldn’t put them down when I read them. 🙂
• Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen – This book is just incredibly *real* to me. I love it

9. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career as an author? Finding time to write. I work full time, I’m in college part time and I have an 8 year old daughter. Too often I find myself dying to write but unable to because of homework, house cleaning, meals that need to be cooked, a dog that needs to go on a walk, and a kid that needs my love and attention. If I had my way, I would write all day and produce all the books that are floating around in my head.  

10. Describe your writing room. I have dedicated a whole room in my house to be my „Office” for writing…however, I usually end up writing on the couch with my laptop. But for professional purposes, here’s an panorama photo of my office, complete with bookshelf, framed Harry Potter signs, and paper stars my daughter made as inspiration. Also, I have this special book fairy, who often takes the form of a cat who likes to sit and stare at me while I write.

11. Take us through a typical day in the life of Amy Sparling. Here’s a typical weekend day, since the weekdays are boring and include work:

• 7am: wake up early, make coffee and get to writing. I write the best stuff in the morning.
• 7:15am: Realize I’ve been goofing off on Twitter… turn off the WiFi and get to writing.
• 9:30-10ish: The kiddo wakes up so I’ll make us breakfast & get more coffee. 
• 11am: Realize that somehow the WiFi was magically turned back on and I’ve been online instead of writing. Get back to writing.
• Then I do whatever the day’s plans are.. which for the sake of this interview, I’ll pretend they’re really awesome things.

After the awesome things, I’ll stay up until about 11pm and write. The only exceptions are Sundays at 8pm where I’ll drop everything to watch The Walking Dead as if my life depends on it.

12. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? I want to say a huge Thank you to everyone who has read my books. When I first published Deadbeat and Phantom Summer, I kind of did it as a fun thing just because I didn’t want those books rotting away on my computer. I wanted people to read them. I had NO idea that people would actually read and like them. I have never asked for book reviews and yet people leave me the greatest reviews ever. It’s just such an honor that people are finding my books and liking them. I think YA readers are the best people ever!

THANK YOU AMY!!