On Gun Control

(This is a serious post today. My thoughts, prayers, and tears go out to the families of Newtown.)

I'm a gun owner. And I favor expanding gun control legislation. But I don't think it's going to happen.

As a former POW of the culture wars (four years as a teenager in an evangelical household) I can tell you that the main obstacle in any gun control is that a large portion of conservative America *literally* believes that any law enacted will be horribly abused by those in power. If we have restrictions that keep people with mental illness from obtaining firearms, the government will then declare that anyone who wants to shoot their own dinner rather than buy it from the supermarket is "crazy," and therefore they can't have guns.

Back in the former Soviet Union, dissidents were often labeled with some form of mental illness; it allowed the government to simultaneously discredit them... and lock them up. Fear of this kind of abuse of power is what causes the resistance to gun control legislation. Do I believe it? Absolutely not. But *millions* of American think like this. If we find a way to overcome this fear, then we can move forward. But until we do, we need to understand *why* the other side tolerates events like Sandy Hook without seeing the need for changes in gun control laws--they literally believe that the alternative could be as bad or worse.

That's what we're up against when we try to put additional legislation in place--just thought I'd translate the rhetoric. Talk amongst yourselves.

Cover Reveal for CAMP BOYFRIEND

This is the first cover reveal for Spencer Hill Contemporary, our new YA contemporary imprint!

The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.
They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

Title: Camp Boyfriend (Camp Boyfriend #1)
Author: J.K. Rock
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
ISBN: 978-1-939392-50-3
Release Date: July 2, 2013
Formats: Paper, e-book
Goodreads TBR: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16409311-camp-boyfriend 

Winner!

And the winner is... Bookarooju!

TEAM AIDEN

We had some technical issues getting the paperback version of Elixir shipped, and it has delayed some people from receiving their pre-orders. We're sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, and we'd like to make it up to you... with Aiden. 

Yup, in honor of Aiden's POV novella, we have "Team Aiden" shirts, and we're going to give away three of them. To enter, just leave a comment below. It can be anything--your favorite Covenant book, your dog's name, a suggestion for a Covenant-themed Ben & Jerry's flavor ("Seth Ripple?")--whatever. 

I'll use random.org to pick the winner after midnight (EST) on Friday, December 7th. We'll ship internationally, too. 

Emily White's New Book

 

10 Tales of Steampunk Silliness and Spookery from Emily White.

In the cozy seaside village of Steamville, New Hampshire, an unfaithful zombie, out of control werebots, succubi in corsets, and more wreak havoc in this short story collection. 

 

Available December 22, 2012 on all major online retailers ($.99 for ebook/$2.99 for print).

Cover Reveal for EXTRACTED

Cover by Lisa Amowitz

Extracted: The Lost Imperials (Book One)

Welcome to the war.

 

The Tesla Institute is a premier academy that trains young time travelers called Rifters. Created by Nicola Tesla, the Institute seeks special individuals who can help preserve the time stream against those who try to alter it.

 

The Hollows is a rogue band of Rifters who tear through time with little care for the consequences. Armed with their own group of lost teens--their only desire to find Tesla and put an end to his corruption of the time stream.

 

Torn between them are Lex and Ember, two Rifters with no memories of their life before joining the time war.

 

When Lex’s girlfriend dies during a mission, the only way he can save her is to retrieve the Dox, a piece of tech which allows Rifters to re-enter their own timeline without collapsing the time stream. But the Dox is hidden deep within the Telsa Institute, which means Lex must go into the enemy camp. It’s there he meets Ember, and the past that was stolen from them both comes flooding back.

 

Now armed with the truth of who they are, Lex and Ember must work together to save the future before the battle for time destroys them both…again.

Title: Extracted: The Lost Imperials (Book One)

Authors: Sherry D. Ficklin & Tyler H. Jolley

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-68-0

Release Date: 11/12/13 (cool date for a time-travel book, eh?)

Formats: Paper, e-book

Cover Poll--BLOOD BOUND

Hi folks, 

Spencer Hill Press has a great book coming out next year, Keshia Swaim's debut, Blood Bound. Her short story, "Family Ties," opened the UnCONventional anthology that came out in January, and (at the request of several of our editors, including yours truly), has been expanded into this novel. It reminds me of Morganville Vampires... but with fae! I think you'll enjoy it. But we've been back and forth about the cover design, so we finally decided to leave it up to the readers!

Blood Bound

   Starting college a year early is hard. Starting fae college and learning to protect the world from the Unseelie is harder.
   Brielle Reed has always been an over-achiever, but this time she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Between her crash course in fae politics, struggles to control her new mind-reading ability, training sessions with the demanding Dr. Schwartz, and discoveries about the father who is still a mystery to her, Brielle finds herself longing for a chance at a normal life.
   But she may not get that chance. Or chance at a life at all, for that matter.

So, for this book, which cover catches your interest more? 

The one with the hand... 

Covers by Vic Caswell

   ...or the one with the girl?

Which design do you prefer, the one with the hand or the one with the girl on the cover?

• Hand
• Girl

Freeblogpolls

More polls: Memira

 Happy Weekend!

Title: Blood Bound

Author: Keshia Swaim

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-45-1

Release Date: September 10, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book

Cover reveal--AWOKEN

Hi folks, 

It's time for another cover reveal! Awoken is a "boy book" with an amazing and original twist.

Cover by Lisa Amowitz.

Fourteen-year-old Michael Stevens has never been ordinary; no orphan who hears music coming from rocks considers himself a typical teenager. But life gets a lot more complicated when two-foot-tall, albino, doll-like men sneak into his room one night, transforming the harmless music into a frightening ability he cannot control.

 

Soon, strangers in black suits begin to ask unsettling questions while unnatural animals with mismatched eyes haunt the streets. They are hunting, and not just Michael: anyone he cares about is in danger.

 

With the help of a mysterious drifter, an annoying girl he's accidentally mutated, and one of those creepy doll men, Michael finds himself in the middle of a war that could forever change the world he knows - reconstructing the very definition of humanity.

Title: Awoken

Author: Timothy Miller

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-53-6

Release Date: August 13, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book

 
It can be added to your Goodreads TBR list here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16064647-awoken
 

I'm sick...

...so I'm sitting around doing art projects, like this:

Cover Reveal for WHISPER FALLS

This book blew my mind. I started reading the manuscript one evening, just to get a sense of it before talking to the author for the first time the next day. But I couldn't put it down, so I stayed up until nearly 2am (and I'm old, so that's a big deal) to finish it. This is one book worth losing sleep over. 

Whisper Falls

While training for a mountain bike race, high-school senior Mark Lewis spots a mysterious girl dressed in odd clothing, standing behind a waterfall in the woods near his North Carolina home. When she comments on the strange machine that he rides, he suspects something isn't right. When Susanna claims to be an indentured servant from 1796, he wonders if she's crazy. Yet he feels compelled to find out more.

Mark enters a 'long-distance' relationship with Susanna through the shimmering--and temperamental--barrier of Whisper Falls. Curious about her world, Mark combs through history to learn about the brutal life she's trapped in. But knowledge can be dangerous. Soon he must choose between the risk of changing history or dooming the girl he can't stop thinking about to a lifetime of misery.

Title: Whisper Falls (Whisper Falls #1)

Author: Elizabeth Langston

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-42-0

Release Date: November 19, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book

What do you think? 

 

We all scream for

How cool is this?

A Disgruntled Bear sundae! http://pinterest.com/pin/68961438015387124/

 Personally, I'm guessing about 20' F, because sometimes I'm annoyingly literal.

Happy Book Birthday for CURSED

It's heeeeeeeere!

If you haven't already, you really should pick one up.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Cursed
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.
Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?
But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time. 


978-0-9831572-7-4 (hardcover)
978-1-937053-13-0 (e-book)

Read the first chapters here (PDF). 

Gangnam Style

You need to see this or a lot of popular culture references for the next few months just won't make sense to you:





Korean rap--who knew? We may have to play this at the zombie prom.

Thanks to Gregg for the link.

Cover reveal for FIREBLOOD

Hi folks--we have an amazing new cover for Spencer Hill's first-ever YA epic fantasy! And it's from Trisha frikkin' Wolfe--woohoo!

Fireblood

To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.

When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father's capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.

Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince's first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.

When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart's twisted world, Zara's path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara's hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father's evil nature, or they will take him out.

But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels' command and where the prince's heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she's truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart .

Title: Fireblood

Author: Trisha Wolfe

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com) Please feel free to use any images, text, links, etc. from our website.

ISBN: 978-1-937053-59-8

Release Date: October 8, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book 

If you have a review site and you'd like to request an ARC, please use the reviewer form on our website. ARCs will ship next summer.

Cover Reveal for STALKED BY DEATH

I kinda love how well this one turned out: 

Stalked by Death

Jodi knows that any slip-ups made by the Ophi--a special group of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac--will fall on her shoulders... and that Hades is just waiting for them to screw up so he can wipe out the Ophi line.

When the only Ophi Jodi can convince to come to the school and train with her is a gorgeous guy named Chase, it spells more than trouble for Jodi and Alex. Her mixed emotions for both guys send her powers surging out of control, and she begins raising the dead without even meaning to. Jodi doesn't want to lose Alex, but Chase is offering her something Alex can't. His very touch enhances her powers, making her stronger than any Ophi ever has been--maybe even powerful enough to stop Hades from threatening them all. But Chase's offering comes with a huge price. One that may cost Jodi everything she has.

Jodi needs to figure things out fast--because death is stalking her at every turn.

The first book of the series, Touch of Death (http://www.site.spencerhillpress.com/Touch_of_Death.html), will be released in January 2013... and the launch party will be a ZOMBIE PROM in Boston! Keep an eye out for news of the coming aPROMcalypse (you know you want to be a "prombie").

Title: Stalked by Death

Series Touch of Death (#2)

Author: Kelly Hashway

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-56-7

Release Date: July 23, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book 

 

It's already up on Goodreads, too, if you want to mark it as a TBR.

 

 

New MINDER Book Trailer

Yay!

Epic Book Trailer

This is awesome, and we should encourage awesomeness. Let's all buy this book:

Books 'n' Spaghetti Pie

Happy Labor Day!

I'm a guest over at J.L. Spelbring's blog today; check it out for a chance to win a signed copy of Minder and a recipe for my infamous spaghetti pie.

Toroidal Vortex

Hey, after seeing this, you'll be able to use "toroidal vortex" in a sentence!

Total Randomness

This is so weird, and yet I cannot look away:
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/08/29/old-spice-muscle-music-player/

And the winner is...

And the winner is...

Shirley!

Congrats, Shirley!

Cool SWAG and an ARC

Hi folks,

We have some great books coming out this fall, and I thought I'd give everyone a little info about some of them here... and use that as an excuse for a giveaway!

We have an ARC of Amarok:

Emma’s life has been hell since she moved from sunny California to a remote Alaskan town. Abandoned by her father and living with the guilt of causing her mother’s death, she makes a desperate dash for freedom from her abusive stepfather. But when her car skids off the icy road, her planned escape leads to further captivity in a world beyond her imagining.

Dragged across the tundra by an evil mountain man and his enormous black wolf, she learns that love can be found in the most unexpected places. Amarok, as she’s nicknamed the wolf, is a young man from the gold-rush era enslaved by an ancient shaman. Emma’s gentle touch and kind heart win his love and devotion. When a vicious madman—trapped in bear form by the same Shaman—attacks the travelers and injures Amarok, Emma must find the strength to face her fears and free the wolf she’s come to love. But that means she must face down the evil shaman, a Siberian mammoth hunter from the ice age, and he has no intention of giving up his power to her.

Amarok will be released in November 2012, and will be available in stores and online.

And a wicked cool wolf charm necklace:

To enter, be a follower of this blog and post a comment below that answers these questions:

Have you ever been to Alaska? 

Were you cursed into animal form while there? 

If so, which animal?

You can enter up until midnight (EDT) Thursday, August 23rd. I'll use random. org to pick the winner.

Happy Weekend!

And the winner is...

Thanks everyone who took part in the YA Blog Hop Giveaway! The winner of the signed copy of Minder is...

Sheila! 

Congratulations, Sheila!

And, just for fun, here's Simon's Cat:

YA Giveaway Hop!

Oooh--free stuff!


I am a reader, not a writer is having another awesome giveaway hop, and you've stumbled across it! The next stop will be Katherine Skye: http://www.katherineskye.com/. But before you click on over there...

Here on Disgruntled Bear, I'm giving away a signed copy of the new edition of Minder (shipped to a US or Canadian mailing address), which will be released next month.

Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. 

Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. 

A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. 

And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. 

But it's still better than New Jersey. Especially once she meets the man of her dreams... 

978-1-93705306-2 : Paperback 

978-0-9845311-1-0 : e-book 

To enter, please become a new follower and/or "like" one of the following:

This blog (Disgruntled Bear)
I post approximately whenever I feel like it, writing about publishing or sharing something funny from YouTube. We're currently in the middle of the book blog Olympics.

Spencer Hill Press's Tumblr page
(http://spencerhillpress.tumblr.com/) 

Spencer Hill Press's Facebook page
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spencer-Hill-Press/174325775943930)

And then just post a quick comment below with a single word or phrase for the one you picked, e.g.:

Spamluvr45:
Facebook!

I'll select the winner using random.org on August 15th. Good luck! 

Extension

I've had a family issue this week and have been away from the computer, so I'm extending the deadline for the next Book Blog Olympics event:

The next event will be "Best Alternate Ending for a YA Book." Please use the Ganzfield comment form (http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html) to submit your entries by midnight EDT on Thursday, August 9th,  These don't need to be elaborate endings; something like this is fine:
 
"...and then Buffy burst into the ballet school. James ended up being sliced to pieces with both a sword and sarcastic quips." (Twilight)

Please include your mailing address and national affiliation, if you haven't registered already.

And the winner is...

Julie Belfield of the UK!

 Silver: USA                                                        Bronze: Turkey

* "My Country 'tis of Thee" plays, but everyone sings different words. *

Book Blog Olympics: Event #1: Funniest Blog Post

Welcome to the first event! We have three entries for this first competition.

Entry #1, competing for Turkey:

One day, Hoca ran into a gossipy neighbour, who remarked, "There's a tray of baklava going by."
Hoca snapped, "what do I care?" (or "what's it to me?")
"But I think it's going to your house."
"Well then, what do you care?" (or "what's it to you?")
http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2008/10/nasreddin-hoca-tale.html

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Entry #2, competing for the UK:

After once writing a post on how to recognise if you’re dating a werewolf, which will also appear on Emi Gayle’s blog July 31st, I realised the wolfie-dating-public would need more help. So … if by chance you worked out you are dating a hairy, growly beast of a dude, you now need to consider that birthday shopping for them might not be the same as shopping for your brother.

So … once again, I am here with my pearls—of wisdom, that is—to help you guys out.
 First up … What NOT to buy:
-          A ‘Sounds of the Forest’ nature CD. Without the other sensory stimulations to accompany the noises and birdly chirps, this will most likely send your wolfie pal on a one way trip to a padded cell.
-          A pet cat. Seriously. The feline will leave the poor guy looking like an extra in a badly produced slasher movie.
-          Paw print boxers. I mean, come on! You can be more original than that, right? He already has 30 pairs, for goodness sake!

Wolfsbane

-          Any plants that even mildly resemble Wolfsbane (check out the image if you’re unsure). Chances are, just the sight of it will bring him out in a cold sweat.
-          Twilight: the movie. Trust me. It’ll just make him mad.
-          A dog collar. He won’t appreciate the sentiment. Not unless Dominatrix is the name of his private fetish.
-          A kennel to stick in your back garden—for those all important nights he sleeps over. This will majorly offend the poor guy.
-          A dog whistle. He’ll think you’re taking the p***.
-          A kingsize bottle of Kouros. Or any scent for that matter. Not unless you want to spend the day sprayed by his sneezes. And that could get pretty ugly.
-          A year’s supply of Frontline. This would be guaranteed to get you instantly dumped. And, really, who wants to deal with that on his birthday?

Secondly … What’s on the ACCEPTABLE list:
-          One of those massage mittens from Petsmart. I’m guessing your guy just luuurves to be stroked.
-          A teddy bear. Seriously. But only gift-wrap it after it’s spent a few nights in your bed—with you.
-          Blankets. Lots of them. But only of the fleecy variety. The furry dudes just love those fleecy throws.
-          A nice juicy steak. Preferable raw. Don’t ask.
-          A first aid kit. He will always find mischief that results in scrapes and bruises. And if you haven’t noticed as such, then the two of you ain’t doing the horizontal tango anywhere near as much as you should be. The below gift will most likely help remedy that ….

-          Edible underwear. For you to wear. For him to eat. For you to reap the benefits of when it can only go toward fuelling his energy prior to you ending up naked. Trust me: win-win situation.
-          A Frisbee. What? I’m not kidding. He’ll love it. Maybe.
-          A doughnut maker. ‘Cept you don’t describe it as that. You tell him it makes edible Frisbees. Got it? Then watch the guy pee his pants in excitement … and if he cocks his leg to do so, you know you’ve scored a win for definite.
http://bookarooju.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/birthday-shopping-for-a-werewolf-the-dos-donts/

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Entry #3, competing for the USA:

I considered titling this post: "She Weighs the Same as a Duck (Because She's Made of Wood)." But that set the nerd coefficient of this post into the red zone.

However, I still wanted to share one of this weekend's epiphanies:

MARY POPPINS IS A WITCH.

It's obvious, once you look at it from a post-Rowling perspective.

- She flies with an enchanted umbrella.

- She makes the room clean itself.

- Hermione even had a bag like hers, one that held all of her oversized stuff.

And it's obvious that she learned all that at Hogwarts, right?

And Burt's a wizard. Don't tell me that all chimney-sweeps/one-man-bands/street artists can make chalk drawings that people can hang out in for a day.

Why didn't I see it before? I knew she was magical, but... I think it's because Julie Andrews played her as such a Glinda in the movie. I heard that the author of the original book cried at the premiere--they'd ruined her character. So now I have to read the original P.L. Travers book, just to know for sure. If I were still in school, I'd consider writing a term paper comparing/contrasting the magical worlds of Harry Potter and Mary Poppins.

Geez, even the names look similar. I bet this idea haunts you for the rest of the day. I know it will haunt me.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Please vote for your favorite by midnight on Friday, August 3rd.

Which did you find funniest?

• Entry #1
• Entry #2
• Entry #3

Acepoll

More polls: Create

The next event will be "Best Alternate Ending for a YA Book." Please use the Ganzfield comment form (http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html) to submit your entries by midnight EDT on Saturday, August 4th,  These don't need to be elaborate endings; something like this is fine:
 
"...and then Buffy burst into the ballet school. James ended up being sliced to pieces with both a sword and sarcastic quips." (Twilight)

Please include your mailing address and national affiliation, if you haven't registered already.

Voting will start tomorrow

I had some unforeseen problems today that kept me from posting, but voting for the first event of the Book Olympics will start at midnight!

Book Blog Olympics--Call for submissions

Hi folks, get your URLs for Funniest Blog Post submitted through the Ganzfield contact form (http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html) by midnight, EDT, Tuesday, July 31st... and then come on back on Wednesday for the vote! 

The Book Blog Olympics!

Hi folks,

So, I was wandering around Facebook this morning when Kay (of K-Books) made a comment about not being that into the Olympics, and then Kimmy (author of Triangles--see how I just keep name-dropping?) said that we needed a Book Olympics... and a "ping!" sound went through my head.

This image is totally ripped off from an elementary school in Pennsylvania.

Okay, so here's the plan:


National teams. 
You can choose to represent any country to which you have a legal tie (you live there now, are from there originally, have a passport with their name on it, etc.).

Sign up. 
We might as well use the Ganzfield contact form for this (beware of the ninjas): http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html. Include your name (or nom de blog), your nationality, your email address, and your mailing address (anywhere on Planet Earth or a lunar colony, if you have an APO address) for prizes. You can enter at any point throughout the games, but we must have your info in order to qualify you.


Submit your entries. 
You can enter one, some, or all of the events, so long as we get your entries by the stated deadline.
We'll post them here, and then have people vote for the winners. Winners will receive gold, silver, or bronze medals (made of ACTUAL pixels---oooooh!) for each event. Each winner also will receive a Spencer Hill Press book of his/her choice... and we have some great ones in the works.


Events. 
Have a suggestion for an event? Please post it below in the comments--we need more! Ideally, they should be entertaining to do and to judge.

So far, we have funniest blog post, innovations in interviewing, speed reading or most books read in a 24 hour period, best flash fiction, and "Twit-kwan-do," in which contenders would go head to head in 5-minute Twitter one-up contests.

And this one is ripped off from a sports science site.

So, we can make the first event "Funniest Blog Post," with entries (URL to the post) accepted through the contact form (listed above) through midnight, EDT, Tuesday, July 31st.

Eye of the Beholder

So, I'm now in the position of selecting images and even hiring models for some of Spencer Hill's cover art, and I have a dilemma. I don't want to perpetuate the negative body image issues of our culture, but I want our authors' books to sell. And THIS is what is done to make those fashionable images that sell stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

(I'd embed it, but embedding has been disabled).

So, what's a publisher with a conscience to do? Plech--I think I'll stick to fire flowers and artful shadows. At least my own series has natural-looking models--speaking of, have you seen the new cover for Adversary?

Yeah, they glow--they're in love. It's a G-positive thing.

Happy Monday!

ISS

I used to post on this blog five times each week. I've cut back to 1-2 times for the past several months, with the combo of work and family health stuff, and most of the recent posts have been about SHP and their books. So, today, I have something totally random--time-lapse images of the Earth from the ISS.

And the only reason I'm posting it is that it's cool. Enjoy!

YA Crush Tourney

SHP has a book in the YA Crush Tourney: http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com/

Aiden St. Delphi from the Covenant books will be up for his first round on July 20. Please vote for him!

Cover Reveal for FAE

Fae

Not all fae'ri tales come with a happy ending.

     Ella thought taking care of the ego-bloated Mamood god would be a sure way to bring peace to the galaxy and satisfy her taste for revenge.

     But she was wrong.

     Despite the fact their god is gone, the Mamood refuse to abandon their attack on the planet Soltak and Ella's own so-called friends start to turn against her. And with Soltak dying--its oceans drying up and its plants withering in the ground--Ella and Cailen suspect there's a new enemy at work. As more people die and more water is leached from the planet, they both prepare for something straight from a nightmare.

     The fae are coming.

 

Cover Design by Vic Caswell

 

Title: Fae

Series: Auri #2

Author: Emily White

ISBN: 978-1-937053-26-0 

Release Date: December 10, 2013

Formats: paper, e-book

Cover Design: Vic Caswell of Sketcher Girl

Cover Reveal for TRIANGLES

Triangles

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong? 

In the Bermuda Triangle--a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who's practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser's suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she's full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that one of these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question--how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?

Title: Triangles

Author: Kimberly Ann Miller

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-36-9

Release Date: June 18, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book

And the amazing cover (designed by Vic Caswell) is...

What do you think of the cover?  

I've got to say, I loved this book. Triangles is Kimberly Ann Miller's amazing story of a girl who wakes up in alternate realities each day she spends in the Bermuda Triangle. It's sort of like a teen romance version of Groundhog Day, and it will make you both cry and laugh out loud.

Please TBR it on Goodreads--it's worth the wait! 

Happy Weekend!

BEA Recap

Hi folks,

We're back, and BEA was amazing! We had several great book signings (and ran out of signing copies for all of our authors!), and the social media sites have been saying wonderful things about our books... and the fact that we had giveaways in our signing lines in order to make them more fun. People LOVED that.

Which means that we will DEFINITELY have giveaways in our signing lines next year (which makes Dan happy).

So you should come find us there.  :)

BEA

Spencer Hill Press will be in Booth 4447: 

if you're at BEA, please come find us! 

Balticon

Hi folks,

I'm back from Balticon and juggling kids, work, the other work, cat-that-needs-to-go-to-the-vet, and all the other aspects of daily life.

But I wanted to put in a few words about conventions. Cons are so much fun, a place to let our inner nerds out to play without worrying that the real world will chuck dodgeballs at our heads. I sat in the Green Room for an hour in a lively, multi-person discussion of the continuity issues among the various Star Trek franchises... and it was AWESOME!

I also got to talk about my books--and about all of Spencer Hill's stuff--for hours with people who love that kind of stuff. It's a wonderful place to network, promote, and also have a lot of fun--all as part of being an author.

So, my advice to you is, if you write spec-fic (that's "speculative fiction," i.e., sci-fi, fantasy, alternative history, dystopian, horror, paranormal, etc.), then find a local con and try it out. Some are more tame than others, and even if the weirdness coefficient exceeds your normal tolerances, you can always use it as inspiration for interesting characters. You don't have to be weird to attend, just okay with being weird-adjacent.

And if "local" for you is the Boston area, come to our launch party for Kelly Hashway's Touch of Death at Arisia in January 2013--we're going to have a zombie prom, and we're asking you to be our bait--um, date.

Grab it! Share it! Angelina's Secret will be all over the web next month!

Betas and Crit Groups

Hi folks,

Aspiring writers and published authors out there--quick question: how did you find your beta readers and/or crit groups? I know a new author who is looking for some feedback for a YA PNR.

In fact, let's make that a thing. If *you* are looking for a crit partner or beta reader, please send me a message through the Ganzfield contact form: http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html

Include your genre, your contact info (just an email is fine), and where you are in your writing career, e.g. "unpublished with completed YA paranormal manuscript." If I have someone who is in a similar position, I'll send you each other's contact info and you can trade sample chapters or something, just to see if you are a good match.

And that's how I became the Writing Matchmaker!


Disclaimer: I'm making no promises here, just trying to help writers find other writers who can help them improve their craft. Don't exchange home addresses or other personal info up front--writers are crazy, or at least weird, and you might not know how weird/crazy at first, but then they show up at your house dressed like the character in your book, and...well, that probably wouldn't end well. I'll also eventually stop doing this, but this specific offer is good through June 30, 2012.

Writing Workshop

Hi folks,

I'm emerging from the editing cave long enough to let everyone know that Trish Wooldridge and I will be conducting a full-day writing workshop at Annie's Book Stop in Worchester, MA on August 11th.

Details: http://anniesbookstopworcester.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/286/

Worlds Collide

My last post was about the *other* Jennifer's blog posts about Fifty Shades of Grey, and now Texas TV is suggesting *our* Jennifer's book to people who liked Fifty Shades!

Wow. That's like a mobius strip in my brain. Anyway, check out those Texans with good taste in books:


http://www.wfaa.com/good-morning-texas/What-to-Read-Next-If-You-Liked--149830085.html