it’s been a while since i’ve done a tgifbm! give
away, so let’s start the year off right! these are all
YA novels that i enjoyed reading recently and pubbed
in 2011 or, in the case of Cinder, just released this year!
they are all hardcovers and I Will Save You is a signed
copy by matt.

WINNER TAKES ALL!

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Kidd is running from his past and his future. No mom, no dad, and there’s nothing for him at the group home but therapy. He doesn’t belong at the beach where he works either, unless he finds a reason to stay.

Olivia is blond hair, blue eyes, rich dad. The prettiest girl in Cardiff. She’s hiding something from Kidd—but could they ever be together anyway?

Devon is mean, mysterious, and driven by a death wish. A best friend and worst enemy. He followed Kidd all the way to the beach and he’s not leaving until he teaches him a few lessons about life. And Olivia.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

rad reads, right?
you know the rules: tweet, fb status,
live journal or blog, etc, with a link back
to this post. make sure you leave your link in
the comments section of this post to enter.
i will be sending books to a US mailing address
only, alas, as it’s a heavy stash.

contest closes next friday, 1/27, when i’ll
draw a random winner. good luck!!

once again, i’m here to list my favorite
reads from the previous year. this past year,
i only read 54 novels. not a lot by any means,
but still enough to fuel me. the more that i read
and the more that i write, i’ve truly come to realize
how personal reading favorites are. yes, everyone
might agree that [this] book is really good. but not
every reader will truly *love* it.

i’ve read a lot of excellent novels in 2011–and the
ones that are my favorite are for completely personal
reasons. and i have to admit, it is becoming more and
more difficult to choose each year. last year, i didn’t
bother to rank them, and i won’t this year either. i’m only
glad i managed to whittle them down to five, with many
honorable mentions worth mentioning.

i consider myself a reader before i consider myself
a writer. and i’m just as big a fangirl as the rest of
you when it comes to favorite authors and books.
for those who are curious, my top favorites
from the last few years are listed here on my about page.

now, i’m very happy to announce, with links to my
goodreads reviews, my top five reads of 2011, in the order
that i read them. (not all novels were published in 2011.)

Red Glove by holly black

You Against Me by jenny downham

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
by francisco x. stork

The Gray Wolf Throne by cinda williams chima

Mistress of Rome by kate quinn [debut]

Other favorites read in 2011, all rated 5 stars:

Clockwork Prince by cassandra clare

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by lish mcbride [debut]

Huntress by malinda lo

Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill

Madame Tussaud by michelle moran

Nevermore by kelly creagh [debut]

Slice of Cherry by dia reeves

So Silver Bright by lisa mantchev

The Demon’s Surrender by sarah rees brennan

The Dragon and the Pearl by jeannie lin

The Second Duchess by elizabeth loupas [debut]

and there you have it! what were some of YOUR
favorite reads from 2011? any that surprised you?
my biggest surprise would have to be You Against Me
by downham. it’s contemporary–which i’m more
selective of when reading (i favor fantasy), but it
stayed with me for a very long time. she’s a fantastic
writer and storyteller, and tackled a difficult subject
in a compelling way.

i’m excited to keep reading in 2012!
also, stay tuned for a big Greenwillow Books giveaway
next week–including TWO fantastic arcs!

currently reading:

Saving Fish From Drowning by amy tan

and this one is gonna rock socks. remember a month
back i had a fantastically fun signing at Once Upon A Time
in montrose with suz young, nova ren suma and holly
goldberg sloan?

*me, holly with delicious cake pops, suz and nova.

well, get ready young adult novel fans! i’m giving away
signed copies of A Need So Beautiful, Imaginary Girls,
I’ll Be There and (i literally decided while posting this)
Silver Phoenix OR Fury of the Phoenix to ONE lucky winner!

goodreads link

goodreads link

goodreads link

goodreads link

it’s been too long since i’ve had a tgifbm! giveaway
and i thought i’d come back with a bang! do you
remember the drill? tweet, facebook status, blog, LJ
or whatever with a blurb and link back to this post, then
comment with that link here. giveaway open to US mailing
addresses only. i’ll select a random winner on friday, 9/30.
good luck!

nova’s Imaginary Girls is gorgeously written, haunting,
and a true original. laini’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone includes
fascinating mythos as well as star crossed lovers who not
only have an intense passionate chemistry but a history as well.

sounds radical, right? right!

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can’t be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby’s friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

…

you know the drill!

tweet, fb status, lj, blog, etc and mention this
contest and link to this post. then comment with
that link in this post!

contest closes some time on friday, 6/10, when
i’ll select a random winner. open to US addresses only.
good luck!!

so. i decided to head up to the LATFoB mainly because
i wanted to see megan. she had been shortlisted for
the LA Times book prize in young adult for A Conspiracy of Kings–
and WON! congrats, megan, so well deserved!!

so despite the fact that the diversity tour starts
the following weekend and i’d be gone for three weekends
in a row (with BEA thrown in!) i simply had to go up to say
HI to megan.

well, it wound up being a FOUR hour drive up to usc
opposed to the two it was meant to be. augh. the fact of
the matter is, i’m horrifically directionally challenged
(in fact, i flunked the map reading portion of my proficiencies
in 8th grade) and i absolutely loathe driving in los angeles.
so not only did i get lost, my gps on my iphone refused to
find a signal, but i was stuck trying to get off the exit for
a good twenty minutes.

thankfully, i wasn’t late to my signing! but i was late
to megan’s 12.30 panel, and instead of being able to
hang out for an hour or so and catch up and argue and
gossip about novels like we like to do–i barely got to
see her for five minutes. wah! but i’m still glad i went.

me and megan!
(i’m wearing three inch wedges therefore the tallness.)
foto courtesy of katie at bookyurt.

me and ai ling! =D

one of the first groups to show was ai ling and
her best friend catrina. i knew something was up
when catrina was very literally prodding ai ling in line
and saying “tell her!” (haha, don’t you love best friends?)
and ai ing confessed they read my novels because she
shared the same name as my heroine. what fun! i also
remember catrina’s husband (?) showing up at my OC
signing at BN and telling me the same, when he picked
up Silver Phoenix for ai ling (again from catrina’s
prodding–awesome!). *waves*

the good news is, they actually love the books too.
woohoo!

(i’m made myself shorter for this foto. =)

i didn’t realize until after i was able to get a
signing through the wonderful Mysterious Galaxy that
one of my favorite editors, juliet, would be there, along
with her author stuart neville (The Ghosts of Belfast and
Collusion). we were able to have a fantastic dinner together
and an adventure navigating the three miles from usc campus
to LA Live.

stuart: do the numbered streets run east west?
me: uh what? i have no idea. i’m just the driver.
juliet: there’s a reason i’m sitting in the back seat.
stuart: being that i’m not even from this country, maybe
i should stop trying to direct you.
me: so how do we get there, stuart?

haha!

in the end, stuart, the author from ireland, DID manage
to get us there. hoorah! and stuart and i were blog buddies
from back before either of us even had agents, and we
blogged very consistently about our novel writing process.
it’s been probably three years now and it’s amazing how much
has happened to both of us in our writing careers. it was a
pleasure to finally meet him as he’s super smart and nice
and we three had great discussions and laughs. =D

his novels are crime thrillers and critically acclaimed, so definitely
check them out!

and omg, the Diversity Tour kicks off in san francisco
this saturday. i can’t believe it’s finally here! (and it along
with many other things i’ve been wrangling with has been
the reason for my blog silence.) hope to see many of you
at our sf, austin, chicago, cambridge and nyc stops!

congrats to simone in austria who won the Supernaturally
and Misfit arcs!

also, check out this awesome Fury release giveaway entry
by the lovely alison–she is always so creative. this made
me smile and laugh!

will post one more time before i hit the road,
lovely readers! wish me luck–i’m so excited!!

currently reading:

Deerskin by robin mckinley

also, they both have awesome covers. win win!

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

A lot has changed in the six months since Evie escaped from the International Paranormal Containment Agency with her shape-shifter boyfriend, Lend. She finally has the blissfully normal life she’s always dreamed of, including:
1) A real live high school
2) A perfectly ordinary after-school job
3) Her very own locker (and by the way, rusted metal is every bit as awesome as she imagined)

But Evie’s not-so-normal past keeps creeping up on her…and things get pretty complicated when you factor in:
1) A centuries-old, seriously decaying vampire stalker
2) A crazy faerie ex-boyfriend who is the perpetual bearer of really bad news
3) A major battle brewing between the faerie courts where the prize in question happens to be…Evie herself.

So much for normal.

…

*awesome* right?

you know the drill! tweet, fb status, blog or
LJ and link to this giveaway post. then comment
with that link! i’ll choose a winner randomly on
friday, 4/22. this giveaway is open internationally!
good luck!!

i decided to write her awhile ago. i’m not even
sure what prompted me to do so. random surfing
online that led me to her webpage, which i’d visited
before. when her last novel, Lavinia, released, i really
truly wanted to fly up to portland for a book signing.
but the times weren’t right, and i couldn’t.

i simply wanted to let her know how much her books
meant to me, and how inspiring she was to me. so i sent
her a real fan letter. imagine my amazement tonight
(i was so busy i didn’t check the mail until 7.30pm!)
when i saw her handwritten note.

ursula said to “keep writing and painting and having joy
in both your arts”. i got teary. i am beside myself. i’m so
happy i took the time to write a fan letter to her. and how
incredible that she took the time to write back with these
words of encouragement.

Fury of the Phoenix releases next tuesday, in exactly a
week. i’ve been doing some blog interviews and one is quite
often asked: what is your favorite part of being an author?

it’s hearing from or meeting fans. there is a lot of
up and down being a writer, and even more loop de loops
when you become published. and nothing makes me think,
this is why i write, as when i get an email from a fan or have
the pleasure of meeting one.

a few weekends back, i participated on three panels at the
local ConDor and had a fantastic time. that friday, a twitter
friend said she was driving from utah (last minute decision!)
to come to the con on saturday.

i got to meet megan before my first panel. and it
wasn’t until we talked some more that i realized she
had come to the con especially to meet me! me!!
because she had just recently read Silver Phoenix and
enjoyed it. we got to chit chat a bit and talk books and
it was so much fun. thanks for driving so far, megan, and
i’m so glad we got a chance to meet! (also thanks to
mr. x for doing the actual driving! =)

speaking of being a fan and inspired by. i was
lucky enough to be on a panel with sherwood smith.
i had met sherwood at the sirens con in october but
didn’t get enough of an opportunity to chat with her.
i’m so glad i got a little more time at the con. i also bought
her newest novel, Coronets and Steel, which looks fantastic.
can’t wait to read it!

so why not take the time to write a real letter or an email
to an author whose book you’ve really enjoyed, had struck a
chord, inspired or moved you? i think you should! 8)

and for those who will actually read teasers, the first 70
pages of Fury of the Phoenix can be read online. enjoy!!

currently reading:

Water for Elephants by sara gruen

A stand-alone companion novel to the much-acclaimed MISTWOOD. When Darri rides into Ghostland, a country where the living walk with the dead, she has only one goal: to rescue her younger sister Callie, who was sent to Ghostland as a hostage four years ago. But Callie has changed in those four years, and now has secrets of her own. In her quest to save her sister from herself, Darri will be forced to outmaneuver a handsome ghost prince, an ancient sorcerer, and a manipulative tribal warrior (who happens to be her brother). When Darri discovers the source of the spell that has kept the dead in Ghostland chained to this earth, she faces a decision that will force her to reexamine beliefs she has never before questioned – and lead her into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens the very balance of power between the living and the dead.

…

isn’t that cover wonderful?
i really enjoyed Mistwood but i loved Nightspell
even more. leah has a wonderful way of weaving
intrigue and twists in her novels so deftly. i recommend
both Mistwood and Nightspell to fans of fantasy, especially
those who enjoy kristin cashore and megan whalen turner.

and since leah is a greenwillowite, i’m doing a giveaway
of a signed Fury of the Phoenix HARDCOVER as well!
with pretty swag! before they are released on 3/29!!

also, in surreal news, newbury medal winner robin
mckinley reads both Silver Phoenix and Fury and she
likes them! i’m *still* gobsmacked!

you know the drill! tweet, fb status, LJ or blog
about this contest and link to this post. then comment
with that link! i‘ll choose a random winner on wednesday,
march 23!

this contest is open international!

and congrats to JESSICA on winning the giveaway
with malinda lo and nnedi okorafor. enjoy!!

i’m especially excited for today’s tgifbm! giveaway
because it’s books from two authors i really love and
admire.

i was fortunate enough to beta Huntress for malinda
and was especially excited knowing it was an asian
inspired fantasy. i enjoyed her debut ASH, but loved
Huntress even more. with Huntress, malinda immerses
us in a wonderful tale of friendship, danger, adventure,
sacrifice and love. all through her beautiful prose and voice
that is so uniquely malinda’s. let me just give you the first
two paragraphs from Huntress, and you’ll see:

She saw a beach made of ice, and she felt her heart breaking.

The ground where she stood was frozen white, but twenty
feet away, cold blue ocean lapped at the jagged shore.
Someone there was climbing into a rowboat, and she knew
that she loved this person. She was certain of it in the same
way one was instantly aware of the taste of sweetness in a
drop of honey. But she was afraid for this person’s life, and
the fear raised a cold sweat on her skin and a sick lurch in
her stomach, as though she was on a ship during a violent storm.

malinda is truly the only author who gives me goosebumps
when i read her prose from the sheer beauty of it.
(this happened for me when the heroine declared her love for
the girl sage she had been traveling with–so poignant.)
and the fact that Huntress has wonderful storytelling in spades,
doesn’t shy from breaking our hearts yet also lifting it with hope,
makes it an absolute must read this year.

it’s no wonder that just today, Huntress received a starred
review from Publisher’s Weekly. congrats malinda, so well
deserved!!

you may remember my raving about Who Fears Death by
nnedi okorafor earlier this year. it was a fantasy novel with
dystopian touches rooted in african mythology and folklore.
it pretty much blew me away. the book has since been nominated
for a Nebula.

so i was thrilled to receive an arc of Akata Witch, nnedi’s YA
fantasy set in nigeria with sunny as the heroine:

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born
American. Her features are African, but she’s albino. She’s
a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer.
There seems to be no place where she fits. And then she
discovers something amazing—she is a “free agent,” with
latent magical power. Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic
students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change
reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked
to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?

ursula le guin says, “There’s more vivid imagination in a page
of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary
fantasy epics.”

yes, ursula le guin. how jealous am i? but i totally have to
agree. what is so refreshing about nnedi’s novels is the
originality and imagination that shines through. Akata Witch
was a much lighter tale than Who Fears Death, with moments
of fun, discovery and coming of age. at the same time, it is
not without it’s frightening moments, all told so vividly.

another YA novel i can’t wait to release and be read by all!

so up for grabs for one winner:

Huntress ARC by malinda lo
Ash paperback by malinda lo
Akata Witch ARC by nnedi okorafor
Who Fears Death hardcover by nnedi okorafor

this prize package kicks butt! =) and because
i’m feeling generous, is open world wide! you know
the drill, tweet, fb status, LJ or blog about this contest
and link directly to this post. then comment here with
that link. i’ll choose a winner by random on friday, 3/11.
good luck!!

also, i’ll be on three panels at ConDor this
weekend. check out their website for more info.
i’ll be presenting on YA fantasy, women in fantasy, and
novel research panels on saturday and sunday afternoons!
my signing will be at 4pm on saturday, right after my
3pm panel with nancy holder and kiersten white. fun!

now some fun and exciting links to share!

my friend gretchen revealed her debut cover
this week! isn’t it stunning? you can check out
the awesome synopsis on gretchen’s site. i can’t
wait to read Possess!

also, i just found out on twitter that
alex bracken, awesome YA author of Brightly
Woven sold a trilogy to disney hyperion.
check out her post for details!
i’m so excited to read more from this talented
YA author. congrats, alex!!

also, with the release of Fury soon, we’re
getting closer and closer to the Diversity Tour.
there are awesome posts each monday from guests
on the diversity in ya website, be sure to check it out
and sign up for our newsletter for announcements!
this monday, dia reeves did a great guest post.

finally, i blog over at the greenwillow blog
about my ten years as a chinese brush painting student.
with commentary on various pieces i’ve painted throughout
the decade. have a peek!

till the next, i’m just trying to stay sane
as release day rolls closer. =D i’m very excited.
i’ve a great giveaway contest planned for Fury of the
Phoenix release. can’t wait!

currently reading:

Akata Witch by nnedi okorafor