Ghosts and giveaways!

Check out this book! GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING - in this fourth installment of Marley Gibson's popular GHOST HUNTRESS series, THE COUNSELING finds heroine, Kendall Moorehead at a crossroads in her life. Kendall has just discovered who her spirit guide really is, lost her boyfriend, and nearly died doing the thing she loves most–ghost hunting. It’s time to take a break and try to reconcile all the changes she’s going through. So Kendall heads to the Sierra Mountains, where there’s a camp especially for young people with gifts such as hers. It’s a time for reflection and self-discovery. But when she gets to California, she once again finds restless spirits–and the boy in her last vision. It may be the end of one chapter of her life and the beginning of a new one.

What people are saying about GHOST HUNTRESS:

"Real life ghost huntress, Marley Gibson, pulls no punches in this series." - Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, SyFy's GHOST HUNTERS

"Every young woman needs to read this!" - Steve Gonsalves, SyFy's GHOST HUNTERS and GHOST HUNTERS ACADEMY

PLUS - there are big giveaways going on! You can check out those deets at Books, Boys, Buzz - www.booksboysbuzz.com or Marley's website - http://marleygibson.com/2010/08/28/awesome-giveaway-for-ghost-huntress-the-counseling/ - for contest, giveaway and prize package running through September 15th. You can also tweet the following to either @ addy and get entered: @marleygibson @hauntedhighways having huge prize giveaway for launch of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING - http://tiny.cc/oa7o2

Win an ARC

I'm doing a give away over at GoodReads.com for an advanced copy of BITE ME! If you're a member of the community, (and if you're not, I suggest you join immediately!) please go here to enter the contest! Two lucky winners will be randomly chosen! You have until midnight tonight to enter.

Sorry this is a driveby posting. I'm neck deep in revisions right now for LOVE SUCKS! and I don't wanna break the momentum.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Welcome YA RITA Finalists!

The Fictionistas’ Fabulous Fiction Giveaway has arrived!

In honor of the upcoming Romance Writers of America® national conference, the Fictionistas have interviewed all five RITA® finalists with Young Adult novels. For those not familiar, the 2008 RITA honors the top romance fiction published in 2007, and over 1000 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories.

Winners of the awards will be announced August 2 at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 28th Annual Conference in San Francisco, California.

Why should you read these interviews? Other than the fact that you’ll learn some fun new facts about your favorite YA authors, the Fictionistas are giving away a bag of YA books from the RWA conference to one lucky commenter. To enter, just comment on any of the interviews this week. The more times you comment, the more chances you have to win!

We’ll begin the interviews tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29, but for now, meet our finalists!

Melissa Marr
Prior to writing, Melissa taught college lit. After a decade of teaching, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing. Wicked Lovely, the first novel, was simultaneously released in the US and the UK by HarperCollins in 2007 (with translation rights also sold in seven countries). It debuted as a NY Times Bestseller. Critical responses both here and abroad have been positive. Ink Exchange, the second novel, released in Summer 2008 to similar responses. Currently, Melissa lives in the DC area with her family and writes full time.


Kelly Parra
Kelly is the author of the novel Graffiti Girl. She lives in a diverse agricultural town in Central California with her husband and two beautiful children. Visit her website: www.KellyParra.com, and follow the Secret Fates blog at SecretFates.blogspot.com.


Rosemary Clement-Moore
Author of Prom Dates From Hell, Rosemary has been writing stories all her life, even when she should have been doing other things, like studying Algebra. Her first paying job was as Chuck E. Cheese. She worked in theatre for years, and now she writes full time, which is her dream job, because she gets to work in her pajamas and take a break every afternoon to play Guitar Hero.




Maureen Johnson
Maureen is the author of six novels, including Girl at Sea. She’s a graduate of the University of Delaware, home of the Fighting Blue Hens, where she was a writing major, but spent most of her time working on shows. After college, she became the literary manager of a wonderful (but now defunct) Philadelphia theater company. Soon after that, she moved to New York to study theatrical dramaturgy and writing at Columbia University School of the Arts. Her first novel was released in 2004.


Simone Elkeles
Simone was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Her funny way of looking at life and the world around her has an affect on the people she hangs out with. If you hear people laughing, you’ll probably fine Simone not far away. She writes about teens because she was a teen in the 80s (when spiked hair and blue eye shadow were “rad”) and she loves writing about those exciting teen relationships and romances. She’s the author of three books, including Leaving Paradise.

Okay, you know the rules…leave a comment during this week and you’re entered the win the bag o’ books! Enter as many times as you like. Check us out all week!

Interview with Colleen Gleason

I'd like to thank Colleen Gleason for taking the time to answer my questions. We're going to give away 2 of Colleen's books to 2 lucky commenters. Colleen has also agreed to stop by today to answer any questions you guys may have, so feel free to ask! If you haven't had a chance to check out Colleen's Gardella Vampire Chronicles , pop over to Amazon right now and order them all. I'm on book #3 and I'm totally hooked. (I mean, what's not to love, a Regency-set Vampire Hunter???)


Why Vampire Hunter? Was this your not so subtle way of dusting off all vampires because you're sick of seeing them?

Heh heh. You've found me out!

Actually, I must confess. I'm one of those seemingly rare people who don't find vampires attractive or sexy. (I know, I KNOW!) And I was such a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and also of the Regency England time period, that, in combination with my dislike of vampire, it just made sense to meld those three elements together.

It was also a fresh idea that sparked the attention of an editor.


How long did you write before you sold?


For years. Off and on through college and beyond. I wrote eight books before selling my ninth novel.


I love your covers, have you been happy with them? Were you terrified you'd get something campy or cheesy or completely different from the stories?

Thank you so much. I love my covers too. I absolutely adore them. My favorites are the first, third, and fifth (ie, the ones with the female on the front).

Was I afraid I'd get something campy...not really. Partly because from discussions with my editor, I knew she "got" the books, so I trusted that she'd push for something different.

Plus, every single cover I've seen from New American Library has been fabulous. Honestly, before I sold to them--and even right after--I started looking at covers in bookstores. It seemed like every cover that attracted me, that I thought was wonderful, was a Signet Eclipse book.

So I wasn't worried at all. The actual cover of THE REST FALLS AWAY was very different from anything I'd pictured, but the minute I saw it, I knew it was the right one. It's just brilliant.

Do you do a lot of research? And, be honest, you chose Paris as a setting so you could write off your vacation, didn't you?


Yes, I do a lot of research. I love doing it, though.

It started with being research mostly about Regency Era England, and vampire lore and mythology, when I wrote the first book. But as the series developed and I became more comfortable with the time period, my research became much more specific.

For example, in RISES THE NIGHT, the second book in the series, I researched Lord Byron and his time living in Venice, because my heroine meets him in Venice. I also was intrigued by the fact that Dr. John Polidori, who wrote THE VAMPYRE (which was the predecessor to today's vampire fiction with the first sort of gentleman vampire), died a mysterious death. So I wove that into the story.

For the third book, THE BLEEDING DUSK, I spent time researching Rome in the 19th century. I learned about a mysterious Door of Alchemy, a real door that still exists today, and used its legend as the basis for Victoria's adventures in Rome.

In WHEN TWILIGHT BURNS, Victoria heads back to England, and I found myself fascinated by the underground (literal and figurative) waste recycling industry in 19th century London--so of course I had to send Victoria into the infamous London sewers. And there was also the fact that the Prince Regent, who was crowned during this book, refused to allow his wife to attend the coronation--and that she was literally refused admittance to Westminster Abbey. That event figured in my book as well, with a paranormal twist.

Finally, for the last Victoria Gardella book, AS SHADOWS FADE, I sent my characters to Prague and I had a wonderful time researching that city.


There aren't any Gardella books set in Paris, but I have been to Paris in order to research another project that I worked on. :-)

Interviewer's note: Yeah. I knew there weren't any Gardella books set in Paris. I have no idea why I asked Paris. I know that I meant Rome. When I reread the question after Colleen had answered, I winced and thought, Dude. What the deuce were you smoking?

Your stories seem to appeal to a wide audience. I know you have some teen fans. What age did you jump from reading YA to reading "adult" novels?

I remember reading THE BASTARD by John Jakes (of the Kent Family Chronicles)--which is most definitely an adult book--in my 8th grade class in a Catholic school. I think I must have been reading other adult novels before then, but I specifically remember reading that one and needing to hide the title/cover from the nuns. :-)

I do have a lot of teens who read my books; they're a large fan base for me, and I love that! My daughter is 11, and I haven't allowed her to read them yet, but I think I will in the next few years.


Speaking of teen...let's talk about High School a little bit.

You and I are close to the same age, so I have a feeling we have similar memories from high school.

Name your 3 favorite movies from high school.


OH! Great question. Let's see....how about four?


FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF
BACK TO THE FUTURE
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (I think that came out then)
ROMANCING THE STONE

Interviwer's note: Add DIRTY DANCING, SIXTEEN CANDLES, and BETTER OFF DEAD to that list and we could be BFFs. :)


Were you in a group? You know, popular, geek, band, athlete, etc?

I was in the "geeky" group, and also the thespian group.


Worst date you ever had?


Hmm. With a guy who I didn't remember what he looked like till he showed up to pick me up...and the passenger door of his car was wired shut, so I had to climb over from the drivers seat. We went to see STRANGE BREW, the movie with Bob & Doug McKenzie. It wasn't a horrible date, just the worst one I can think of. I was pretty lucky!


Tell me about your prom...


I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. We had one prom each year for the juniors and seniors. When I was a junior, I was dating a guy who went to a nearby all boys school, and their prom was the night before ours. So I had two proms in two nights (a Thursday and a Friday). His prom was fine, but my prom was sort of a disaster. His ex-girlfriend, who was a senior at my school, attended the prom with her 40-year-old boyfriend.

No joke. And he looked forty years old! It was awkward to say the least.

The theme for that prom was the love theme from FOOTLOOSE, which I can never remember. ALMOST PARADISE, that's it.

When I was a senior, I went with the same guy, and it was fairly uneventful. My grandmother made my dress, and it was gorgeous. I can't remember that prom's theme song!


What is the one style from the 80s that you think should NEVER return?


The Flock of Seagulls flip hairdo--on men or women. And the overload of jewelry and hair scarves, a la Madonna.


and the burning question on everyone's mind:
Are you a Sebastian girl....or a Max girl?


Heh heh. I could tell you but then I'd have to stake you.

Actually, I love them both. Honestly. Partly because there's a bit of my husband in each one of them! And partly because they're both hawt.

I'm glad I'm not Victoria and have to make a choice....and yes, she does. My editor said so.

Interviewer's note: I'd like to put my vote in for Sebastian. Kthxbye.
-------------------------------



To find out more about Colleen, please check out her website at http://www.colleengleason.com.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Review of Shelley Adina's THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK and a book giveaway!!!!

Thanks to everyone for entering the drawing for Nico Medina's Fat Hoochie Prom Queen! Rhonda wrote all the entries down and drew this name: cheryl!! Congrats, cheryl -- please email the Fictionistas at admin@fictionistas.com with your full name and mailing address so we can get your book sent out. We hope you enjoy!

Today I'm blogging a review of an ARC I recently read, Shelley Adina's THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK (FaithWords, August 2008).



This is the second book in Shelley Adina's fun new YA inspirational chick lit series, the "All About Us" books. The series is billed as an alternative for girls who want hip books relevant to their faith. Think "Gossip Girl Finds Religion."

It's the second semester at exclusive Spencer Academy boarding school in San Francisco, and overachiever Gillian Chang is ready to kick some academic butt. With a difficult schedule, she certainly doesn't need any distractions.

Enter Lucas Hayes, the class brainiac and future physicist. She's thrilled when he asks her to help him prepare for a major science competition. As time goes on, she falls hard for him, and what's great is that he likes her too! But for some reason, she's never able to be the perfect girlfriend he wants.

Gillain starts spending more and more time with him, keeping more and more secrets from her friends. When she's accused of hacking into the exam database, even her friends wonder whether it's true. Can Gillian get out of this downward spiral?

I have to admit that I'm not a regular inspy reader. Some inspirational books are, shall we say, a little too preachy for me. But Shelley Adina hit a perfect balance. Her characters are strong Christians, and their faith is a big part of the story (and certainly helps her in her story journey), but she never really hits you over the head with it. It's just a part of their lives, just like shopping and cute boys are a part of their lives.

Shelley's conversational style draws the reader in. She does a fantastic job of drawing her characters, and it feels just like you're dishing with an old friend away at school.

I laughed out loud during many of Gillian's descriptions of her family, actually hearing my Asian husband's aunties' voices in my head. Shelley provides a fantastic glimpse into Chinese-American culture and the struggle of trying to fit into two different worlds.

One thing that I thought was really funny was the cross-promotion between Shelley and her friend, Camy Tang. Gillian and her suitemates are passing around the latest Camy Tang novel. (A shout-out to Camy...her books rock! Her recommendation of this series was the reason why I wanted to review this book, actually.)

Anyway, if you like inspy fiction or are looking for some good clean fun, check out THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I look forward to reading suitemate Carly's story, BE STRONG AND CURVACEOUS (January 2009)

To celebrate the release of the "All About Us" books, today we're giving away a copy of the first book in the series, IT'S ALL ABOUT US, to one lucky commenter. (Gillian's roommate Lissa's story.)

Just post, and we'll pick someone at random!

And be sure to preorder your copy of THE FRUIT OF MY LIPSTICK:

Interview with Nico Medina--comment to win!

Today, we have a fantastic interview with YA author Nico Medina! And best of all, one lucky commenter is going to win a copy of Fat Hoochie Prom Queen, Nico's newest release that came out May 6! It looks absolutely HILARIOUS, and I already bought my own copy. I recommend you do the same!

First off, I adored The Straight Road to Kylie (where a gay teen goes back INTO the closet for killer tickets to see Kylie Minogue—hilarious premise!). You've got a wicked sense of humor and characterization, and it shows in your writing. Can you tell us a little about your newest release, Fat Hoochie Prom Queen (love that title, by the way!) and what inspired you to write it?

Okay, well, first off: Thank you! I really appreciate it. As for my dear second child, Hoochie, I can tell you that it’s about a fat, foxy, and fabulous girl named Margarita “Madge” Diaz. Madge has friends all over the school and completely loves herself and her body, but there’s just one girl who really ruffles her feather boas: top-’o’-the-cheerleading-pyramid–type Bridget Benson. I won’t give anything much away except that these two girls have one UGLY history, and during a heated argument at a house party, they decide there’s only one way to end their rivalry: be named prom queen, and other backs off for good. Throw in Madge’s adorable sidekick and right-hand homo Lucas; a cute love interest who looks really good in big polo shirts and Bass Pro Shop hats; and crazy misadventures involving seven-foot drag queens, pickup-truck water-skiing, nerve-wracking stakeout missions, and a lot of fast food, and you have Fat Hoochie Prom Queen!

That sounds like a fascinating combination of elements. haha. So, what's your writing process like? Show us a day in the life of Nico Medina.

Well, lately a day in the life of Nico Medina involves little or no writing whatsoever! Just commuting from Brooklyn into the city for my day job (I copyedit children’s books for Penguin), maybe a little dinner or happy hour after, then hanging out in our yard and playing with the pug and/or some cable.… It’s been a busy couple of years with these two books, so I’m taking a breather. (A breather that is actually ending soon….)

But as for my process…hrm… It’s sort of all over the place. First, I brainstorm. Either solo or with my boyfriend—he’s always full of good ideas and really helps get my creative juices flowing. Then I scrawl out a very loose outline in my journal, using indicators and weird little hints that I feel like only I can decipher. (Sometimes, later, even I can’t decipher them!) At first, I only outline the first few chapters, and see where the writing (or typing, rather) takes me. As I get more of the story down, that’s usually when I outline all the way to the end, to keep myself on task. But then comes the writing group and revision, and then all that crap changes!

You know, lots of people who write about high school have really crazy stories they remember (e.g., I once ate 6 hot dogs at a band camp gathering—yeah, don't ask). Can you tell us an amusing anecdote from when you were in school?


Don’t ask? How can I not ask?! Did you have to soak them in water first, to get them down the ol’ gullet? Hopefully there was no vomit involved….

Anyway, high-school anecdotes? Well, since the craziest stories I remember off the top of my head mostly took place in college, I’ll tell you about something that happened the summer between graduation HS and starting college and just count it as a high-school experience. Um, okay, so this was in my semi-goth days. (Well, to be fair, I always enjoyed my black clothing and spike necklaces, but I also had a weird assortment of Hawaiian, vintage, and ringer shirts, and all sorts of weird-material wide-leg pants…so my fashion “sense” was sorta all over the place.) Anyway, so two of my friends and I were bored one day and decided to make a music video to Marilyn Manson’s “Sweet Dreams.” Our shooting locations included a cemetery, my friend’s apartment-complex parking lot, and an abandoned house in the woods about forty minutes outside Orlando. Looking back on it, it was totally stupid, trekking through the woods and going into an abandoned house full of broken windows, spiders, and BATS (!!!)—but I’ll give us credit for coming to our senses and getting the hell out of there when we were on our way up to the third floor and saw someone’s jacket on the staircase! Um, can anyone say “ax-wielding psycho transient”?!?!? God, that was stupid. Don’t try this at home…. It was totally creepy, though, especially considering on our drive out there, we saw a car on FIRE off the side of the highway. Ugh. So take bats flying through a house, embarrassing fishnets and other Hot Topic atrocities, and a burning car, and you have a pretty decent amateur music video. I still have it. I’m gonna destroy it now, so no one ever sees it.


Hah, you wish--I must see that video! So, what "group" did you hang with in school? Do you think hanging with that group influenced your writing?


I’m not sure we were a defined group. I think it was just that group of fifteen or so girls who accepted me as one of their own! Haha! I mean, I wasn’t out (or completely aware that I was gay) till freshman year of college. But all my closest friends were girls (I had a few guy friends but not many) and we were pretty run-of-the-mill—not top-tier popular or bottom-rung losers. We weren’t cheerleaders, jocks, computer nerds, or anything like that. I mean, we all did various sports or clubs, but we were pretty much just a group of kids who liked to hang out—day trips to the beach, excursions to the theme parks, hotel-room parties on spring break, dinners, movies, slumber parties, Taboo!, making funny videos…y’know. Normal-kid stuff. Is that normal-kid stuff? J


I think normal's overrated, anyway. haha. What was your favorite cafeteria meal—did you dig the unnaturally square pizza as much as I did?


Anytime I got lunch money from my parents, I’d make it through the school day with a bag of chips (usually Cheetos) and a can of soda, then I’d get home and have ramen and a salad and watch Rosie O’Donnell and get really excited about the two or three bucks I’d just “made.” Cafeteria food at my school scared me, but when I actually did get cafeteria food, it was a Subway sandwich, which I don’t think really counts.


Yeah, I agree with you. So, are you working on any projects right now? When can we expect another book? (Read: Rhonda is greedy for more tales. Haha)


Funny you should ask—there’s a new project I’m supposed to be working on right now! Hahaha. Procrastination is my best friend lately. Anyway, I can’t divulge much info at this point, but my boyfriend (writer-poet Billy Merrell) and I are collaborating on something. It’s gonna be pretty different from my first two books, but in a good way. The plot, the setting, and the process are all gonna be major challenges, but we’re up for them. Stay tuned…


I sure will! Okay, time to dish--what's something you can share with the Fictionista readers that no one else knows about you?


That I probably gained ten pounds during the writing of Fat Hoochie Prom Queen. I was on a post-advance-money high, and it was a period of particular excess. It was also winter, so there was the winter-fat factor. And there was also the fact that the book’s protagonist was all about treating herself to what she wanted—so that leaves the question: Was this art imitating life, or vice versa? Haha!


And last but not least, where can we find you online?


At http://nicomedina.com. I’m also at http://www.myspace.com/nicomedina, but I try to only accept friend-requests if I get a message first. Just something that tells me that a) that you’re not trying to sell me ringtones or nudie pictures, and b) that you’re not just out to beef up your friend count. (If you can’t tell from this, I’m kinda sick of MySpace—so I also have Facebook...but don’t bother “poking” or “super-poking” me. I think that’s kind of crass.)


Thank you so much for stopping by, Nico! We appreciate your time!


Readers, don't forget to comment today to get your name in the drawing for a chance to win a copy of Fat Hoochie Prom Queen!