cindy pon
a little sweet, a little sour
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the total tragedy of a girl named hamlet by erin dionne

hamlet

today, i’m featuring erin’s second novel out!
don’t you love that title and cover?

Book Summary:

Hamlet Kennedy just wants to be your average, happy,
vanilla eighth grader. But with Shakespearean scholar parents
who dress in Elizabethan regalia and generally go about in
public as if it were the sixteenth century, that’s not terribly easy.
It gets worse when they decide that Hamlet’s genius sevenyear-
old sister will attend middle school with her– and even worse
when the Shakespeare project is announced and her sister is
named the new math tutor. By the time an in-class recitation
reveals that our heroine is an extraordinary Shakespearean
actress, Hamlet can no longer hide from the fact that she–
like her family–is anything but average.

Author Bio:

Erin Dionne’s debut novel, Models Don’t Eat Chocolate
Cookies, was inspired by events that occurred in seventh
grade, when she wore a scary peach bridesmaid dress in her
cousin’s wedding and threw up on her gym teacher’s shoes
(not at the same event). Although humiliating at the time,
these experiences are working for her now. Erin lives outside
of Boston with her husband and daughter, and a very insistent
dog named Grafton. She roots for the Red Sox, teaches English
at an art college, and sometimes eats chocolate cookies.

the cindy interview!

1. what was your favorite childhood book?

My favorite childhood book…I had so many!! I went
through a Greek myths phase, and carried around D’Aulaire’s
Book of Greek Myths for a while (oh, how I would have LOVED
the Percy Jackson series!!). Harriet the Spy was another favorite.
I started keeping a notebook because of Harriet, so I give her a
lot of credit in my development as a writer.

anne frank really inspired me to begin diligently keeping
a journal! we read her in 8th grade.

2. if you could win a gold medal in any olympic
event, which would it be?

Well, if talent and ability were no option, I’d have to say
gymnastics. I failed miserably at gymnastics as a kid (too
tall, too gangly, couldn’t do a straight cartwheel), but would
love to be able to flip and fly and dance like those girls. *sigh*
Winter Olympics? Definitely luge. I love sledding!!

3. if you could buy a lovely writing retreat/cottage
anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Maui, Hawaii. Tropical, beautiful, pineapple capital of
the world…’nuff said. : )

Great questions, Cindy! Thanks for having me!

congratulations on your second book release, erin!!!

you can find out more about erin :

erindionne.com

and indie book love!

a match made in high school by kristin walker

matchmade

About A Match Made in High School

When a mandatory marriage education course forces
Fiona to “try the knot” with super-jock Todd Harding,
she’s convinced life could not possibly get any worse.
Until moments later, when her long-time crush is paired
with her arch-enemy (otherwise known as Todd’s
obscenely hot, slightly sadistic girlfriend). But that’s nothing
compared to her best friend’s fate – a year with the very shy,
very goofy, very big Johnny Mercer.

A series of hilarious pranks and misunderstandings
leave Fiona wondering: is there something her supposed
“best friend” hasn’t told her? Could there be more to Johnny
Mercer than a deep voice and an awesome music collection?
And perhaps most intriguing of all, is it possible that Todd
Harding could actually have a heart – and a brain – beneath
his pretty-boy exterior?

About Kristin Walker

Kristin Walker grew up roaming the Pennsylvania
countryside. She finally landed at Penn State, where
she earned a BA in Theatre Arts. In addition to being actor,
Kristin was many things on her way to becoming an author,
such as a lifeguard, a nanny, a beginning ballroom dance
instructor, a library circulation clerk, and very nearly a nurse.
A Match Made in High School (Razorbill/Penguin Group) is her
first novel. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Ladybug,
Wee Ones, and two Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Kristin lives
in a Chicago suburb with her husband and three sons.

and the cindy interview! these are 2009 questions
as kristin was originally a 2009 release deb!

1. who is your literary character crush?

I’m sure many many Debs (like me) will pick Darcy,
Mr. Darcy, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Darcy as played
by Colin Firth, or Colin Firth playing a guy named Darcy
in Bridget Jones’s Diary.

So let’s just eliminate the outlier. Other than HIM, my
literary crush would have to be… oh, yes. Gilbert Blythe.
Ahhhhh.

2. who is your author crush? (does not have to
be romantic!)

There are so many. Richard Peck, Anna Quindlen,
Markus Zusak, JK Rowling. *heart flutter*

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Ice cream. What? Okay, a little piece of pastry in
a bowl of ice cream.

ice cream has its place and all but at least deep
fried ice cream? haha!

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

The last one.

congratulations on the release of your
debut, kristin!!!

more on kristin :

kristin-walker.com

and indiebound love!

bedeviled: the good, the bad and the ugly dress by shani petroff

bedeviled

i am very excited to start the 2010 debs
tour today with shani’s bedeviled!

Book Summary:

Angel Garrett knows two things for sure. The
first is that she inherited her devil-dad’s powers.
The second is that she wreaks havoc whenever she
tries to use them. Especially  when she’s trying to
impress her crush, Cole. Angel’s only solution is to
stay as far away as possible from him until she learns
how to harness this new gift. But how do you avoid
someone and get him to ask you to the school dance
at the same time?

Author Bio:

Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. In
addition to tween and teen books, Shani writes for
news programs and several other venues. When she’s
not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a
whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and
shopping online. She has no devil lineage as far as she knows.

and the brand new cindy interview!

1. What was your favorite childhood book?

I really liked A Little Princess. Although, I will admit
I watched the movie on TV first. And this was where I
learned you really should read the book and not count
on a movie for a book report. I actually read a lot as a kid,
but for some reason didn’t get around to A Little Princess
in time for the assignment. So I wrote it up based on what
I remembered seeing on TV. Big mistake. One of the
characters was a scullery maid. I had never heard that
word before—and was convinced that they had called
her a scuttery maid or something like that—which I used
all over my report. And that was just one of my mistakes!
In the end, I did end up reading the book and really liking it!
And now it forever holds a little place in my heart—and my memory.

omg, a little princess also an absolute favorite of mine.
tho i have never seen the movie? scuttery maid, haha!

2. If you could win a gold medal in any Olympic event,
which would it be?

I’ve always been so impressed by the figure skaters and
the way they can do the turns and jumps and all those fancy moves.
I’ve only been on ice skates a couple of times—and each time I barely
let go of the wall or the person I was with. So I would love to win a
gold medal in that—but for now I’d be happy if I could to do a couple
of circles around the rink without stumbling!

3. If you could buy a lovely writing retreat/cottage
anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Somewhere warm, near the water, semi-secluded, with a nice
breeze, and beautiful view—but not so far away from society
that it would be hard to get back to (not looking to end up on
that island in LOST or anything!).

*sighs dreamily* yes! some day…

thanks so much for stopping by and congratulations
on your sequel release!

to learn more about shani :

http://www.shanipetroff.com

and amazon linky love!

vlog news!

happy valentines day and chinese new year
to all! =D i’ve been having a lovely weekend and
got a chance to finally vlog again yesterday.
check it out for my happy announcement! =D

hoorah! i’m very excited!
was a bit frustrated that most of my art cards
were cut off, but you can see them at the etsy site! =)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cindypon

rebelspirit.com

happy sunday, everyone!! xo

TGIFBM uk edition!

augh! is it monday already?
this is so icky i simply must give away
some books to make myself feel better!
while in england this past x’mas, i picked
up a few awesome uk editions (with uk covers!)
of debs novels, including r.j. anderson’s
gorgeous KNIFE. to my utter surprised pleasure,
her sequel REBEL came out while i was there–
and i can’t wait to read this!

knife

rebel

my review of knife :

what an absolutely delightful read. you always
know when a book has found its way into your
heart when you are filled with regret when the story
is over. faery rebels is a middle grade novel–a genre
i have not read in some time–but it is a book to be
enjoyed by all ages.

knife is a fearless faery intent on finding out the truth
of her people’s past, when she befriends a human friend, paul.

with evocative prose and wonderful storytelling, anderson
slowly unravels the mystery behind the faeries’ unhappy
circumstance, as knife does all she can to help her kind.
knife is the perfect heroine for this fantastic debut. i
recommend highly!

r.j.’s debut has received much critical acclaim including
being nominated for Hillingdon Book of the Year Award,
a program which promotes literacy in schools in the London,
UK area. students read the nominated books and vote on the winner.
how awesome is that?

win BOTH uk editions of this novel by tweeting/fb/blogging/LJ’ing
about this contest and linking to this post. be sure to come back
and COMMENT in this post with your link to tweet, etc, by this
sunday, 2/14. i’ll choose a winner some time on sunday. good
luck to all and TGIFBM!! =D

contest is OPEN TO EVERYONE!