Posts Tagged: BIR2010

Janette Rallison- My Double Life

08 Dec, 2010 by in my double life, putnam 3 comments

My Double Life
By: Janette Rallison
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Website: http://www.janetterallison.com/

Book Summary: (from Goodreads)
Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia’s photo filters through the Internet, she’s offered a job to be Kari’s double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia’s mother has always warned her against celebrities. Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

Janette has donated one copy of My Double Life for our BIR2010 giveaways. Shipping is to US & Canada and giveaway ends December 15th. Enter by filling out this form.

BIR2010 Nightshade Giveaway & Interview

08 Dec, 2010 by in nightshade, Philomel 10 comments

Nightshade
By Andrea Cremer
Published by Philomel/Penguin
Released on October 19th, 2010

Summary:Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters’ laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice? (quoted from goodreads)

Nightshade was one of my very favorite reads of 2010. It is fast paced and brilliant! Read our five star review here. And a special thanks to Andrea Cremer for joining us as a part of BIR2010

Describe your series and how you were inspired to write it
Calla started it all because I wanted to write a story about a female character who wasn’t being pulled into a magical world – she was already in the middle of it, a leader and a warrior. The world of Nightshade came as I tried to figure out how someone like Calla, a girl who I knew was incredibly powerful, could be afraid and angry. What was controlling her? Why would she be fighting against her own destiny? I realized that she was facing off with something even more powerful than herself. That’s where my background as a historian came in. I teach early modern history (1500-1800) – a period of immense, violent change in human societies. This is the time of witch hunts, religious warfare, colonization, the Inquistion; all types of cataclysmic social transformation that turned the lives across the globe upside down. The more I thought about Calla I thought about the ways in which wolf warriors and witches could have intertwined lives. The mythology in Nightshade is a blend of history and lore plus new twists I imagined along the way.

Tell us about the three packs in your book and the difference between them

At the outset of Nightshade there are two wolf packs (about fifty wolves in each pack): the Nightshades and the Banes. The Nightshades are headed up by the alpha pair Stephen and Naomi Tor, Calla’s father and mother. The Bane pack is led by Emile Laroche, Ren’s father. The main difference between the two rival packs is the style of leadership of their alphas. Stephen is measured and stoic, encouraging loyalty and cooperation within his pack. Emile rules with a rough hand and brutality. He’s much more interested in dominance than collaboration. The third pack will be formed by the next generation of wolves and will be led by Calla and Ren after their union.

Nightshade has an alpha female, how does this change the dynamics of the pack and tell us more about Calla

The fact that Calla is a female alpha doesn’t affect the dynamic of her pack as much as that she models her leadership style on her father. She admires her father’s role as an alpha and she wants her pack to be based on trust and loyalty, rather than fear.

What are the Guardians, Keepers and Searchers?

The Guardians are wolf warriors who serve the Keepers, fighting on the front lines of the Witches War. The Keepers and Searchers are two factions of witches who have been at war since the 1400s.

Did any modern day myths and legends influence your writing?

I have a Ph.D. in early modern history and my research focuses on the intersection of religion, gender, and violence; thus, I spend a lot of time working on the history of witchcraft. Myths and history about witches and the occult played a large part in the world building that went into Nightshade.

What are your favorite all-time reads?

Watership Down, The Mists of Avalon, Good Omens, The Poisonwood Bible, The Handmaid’s Tale, Harry Potter

Any future projects in the works?

Nightshade is a trilogy: Wolfsbane (book 2) will be in stores July 26, 2011, Bloodrose (book 3) will be out spring 2012. Right now I’m working on a prequel to the Nightshade series that recounts the origins of the Witches War. That book will be published in fall 2012.

Team Ren or Team Shay and tell us why?

I’m Team Calla – because it’s her choice not mine 🙂

Andrea has generously donated one signed ARC of Nightshade for our US readers. To enter fill out this form.

BIR2010 Giveaway #6 Losing Faith

08 Dec, 2010 by in Simon Pulse 17 comments

Losing Faith
By Denise Jaden
Released September 7, 2010
Published by Simon Pulse
http://www.denisejaden.com/

A terrible secret. A terrible fate. When Brie’s sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie’s world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but. As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don’t line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night…a secret that puts her own life in danger.

Denise and SimonTeen have offered one copy of Losing Faith to our US blog followers. To enter to win please fill out this form. Giveaway ends December 15, 2010.

The Replacement BIR2010 Giveaway #5

07 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway, penguin, the replacement 6 comments

The Replacment
by Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: September 21, 2010
http://brennayovanoff.livejournal.com/

Book Summary (from Penguin): Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world. Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs. Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

We are giving away one copy of The Replacement as part of the BIR 2010 giveaways. Simply fill out the form below to enter. Open to US residents. Ends December 15th, 2010

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Tyger Tyger Teaser Giveaway BIR2010 #2

06 Dec, 2010 by in tyger tyger 22 comments

Tyger, Tyger
By Kersten Hamilton
Published by Clarion Books
Released November 15, 2010

Teagan Wylltson’s best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures–goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty–are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn’t worried. Her life isn’t in danger. In fact, it’s perfect. She’s on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She’s focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn’s a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he’s crazy or he’s been haunting Abby’s dreams, because he’s talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby’s right. The goblins are coming.

Kersten Hamilton is the author of several picture books and many middle grade novels. When she’s not writing, she hunts dinosaurs in the deserts and badlands outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she lives. This is her first novel for young adults. For more about Kersten, please visit http://www.kerstenhamilton.com/.

Kersten has donated one copy of Tyger Tyger for our blog as part of BIR2010. The giveaway is open Internationally as long as the Book Depository ships to your country. To enter to win simply fill in the form below. Giveaway ends December 15, 2010 and winners will be announced December 20, 2010.

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