Award-winning YA novel now in paperback

 

Your teens looking for a new book?

Or if you're like me and love reading YA novels, this is for you!

SCION OF THE SUN, now available in paperback!

BUY HERE

New release FREE!

VANISH, the YA prequel to BANISH (releasing world wide today!) is my new release and it's available from all retailers FREE!

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

iBOOKS

KOBO 

Book Blitz sign up

BANISH is releasing May 26th so if you're a YA bookblogger, please sign up for the week-long release blitz HERE 

Cover reveal: VANISH

This is my favourite cover EVER!!!

VANISH is the prequel to BANISH, my YA supernatural thriller released in Aust/NZ by Harlequin Teen, but is now releasing worldwide May 26th.

Vanish will be releasing a few days before (TBC).

So what do you think?

National Readers' Choice Award finalist!

Thrilled to announce that my young adult paranormal fantasy novel SCION OF THE SUN is a finalist in the NATIONAL READERS' CHOICE AWARDS YA category.

This is the competition I won last year with Marrying the Enemy, in the contemporary series section.

SCION OF THE SUN holds a special place in my heart and I'm thrilled to final in a new genre for me with the first YA book I wrote.

Goodreads giveaway for SCION OF THE SUN

To celebrate the upcoming release of SCION OF THE SUN (November 5th) there are 3 paperback copies up for grabs at GOODREADS

Or you can pre-order on:

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE

Here's the blurb:

When she least expects it, sixteen-year-old Holly Burton’s unremarkable life is shaken to the core. A vision of the mother Holly never knew leaves her questioning everything she believes. 

Eager for answers, Holly enrolls at a boarding school for highly gifted students in Wolfebane, New Hampshire. But Holly's complicated life worsens when she accidentally transports to a parallel existence where she's confronted by a dark and ancient evil.

With the help of Joss, a sexy alpha warrior sworn to protect her, and her new BFF, the equally swoon-worthy Quinn, Holly faces her fears and an unlikely adversary in a showdown that is worse than anything she could’ve possibly imagined …

Obsession with Books...& another BANISH 2 book giveaway!

Today the BANISH blog tour juggernaut continues at OBSESSION WITH BOOKS.

There's something for everyone, from Ben Barnes inspiring Ronan and some revealing stats about the sexy geek saxophonist, to a fab review.

Plus a giveaway! 2 copies of BANISH.

Calling YA book bloggers!

If book bloggers are interested in reading and reviewing my YA debut BANISH, a supernatural thriller, it's now available on NETGALLEY.

Banish on Goodreads

BANISH is now on GOODREADS so please go 'add' it to read.

Thanks!

Vote for Best YA Cover

SCION OF THE SUN (releasing November this year) is up for Best YA cover on Aussie Owned & Read.

You can vote for my fab cover HERE.

Thanks!

Scion of the Sun on Goodreads!

SCION OF THE SUN is now on Goodreads!

Please add it to your TBR pile.

And if inclined, vote for it in the 'Most Excited 2013 Releases.' It's currently #17 alongside amazing YA authors like Julie Kagawa, Richelle Mead, Lauren Oliver and Cassandra Clare.
(Yeah, I'm having serious fan girl moments!)

Check it out HERE to vote.

The Prom

Lisa Burstein is celebrating the upcoming release of her contemporary YA novel PRETTY AMY on May 15th by giving away designer evening dresses!


PRETTY AMY starts on a prom night that goes horribly and hilariously wrong. Prom night or any special night doesn’t always go as planned. There is a lot you can’t control: the weather, your date’s breath and sometimes even the whim of a policeman. 

Luckily, you can control the way you look and PRETTY AMY wants you to look good.
Designer good. $200 Designer good!
Lisa is giving away 3 Size 8 Phoebe Couture evening dresses, generously donated by Kay Unger and 2 $20 Sephora gift cards.
4 lucky people will win! Contest starts 4/17 and goes until 5/17.

Enter here

To make this even MORE fun, some brave Entangled authors, editors, publicists and interns have given Lisa their prom photos. She will be posting them on her FB page over the next month.
(and yes, me included, complete with pink satin and frizzy hair. While we don't celebrate prom in Australia, graduation dance is the equivalent roughly, so that's the pic you'll see. It's a doozy!)

COVER REVEAL: Greta and the Goblin King

Another fabulous cover reveal for a fellow ENTANGLED PUBLISHING author, Chloe Jacobs.

Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.


GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING releases November 13, 2012.

Here's the blurb:

While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.


To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.


But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

Goodreads
Barnes and Noble pre-order
Twitter
Facebook
Website

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Fury

I hadn't heard of this YA novel when I picked it up.

The cover and the blurb sucked me in.

It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...


Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

This book had me riveted. Could hardly put it down.

Intriguing premise, with revenge being the underlying theme.
Revenge with a paranormal twist!

The author nailed the YA voice perfectly too and the teenage angst really sucked me into the story. Excellent characterisation.

Very unusual plot twist at the end to lead into more books in this series.

Enjoyable read.

What are you reading this weekend?

Cover reveal: My Super Sweet 16th Century

I'm super excited to be involved in the lovely Rachel Harris's cover reveal for MY SUPER SWEET 16TH CENTURY.
Really looking forward to reading this YA when it releases September this year.

Here's the blurb:

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.


Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

The book is available for pre-order at Amazon Barnes & Noble and you can add it to your TBR pile at Goodreads

In the meantime, here's an excerpt:

I hear their muffled whispers and understand every Italian word. Every witty comment made at my expense.



It’s like my brain is automatically translating.


I bunch the soft fabric of the dress in my hand and then reach up to feel the ribbon in my hair. I lightly skim my fingers over my chin and feel my lack of zit. I take in the costumes of the crowd, the stench of the animals, and the Italian I can now speak and understand. And suddenly it hits me.


Reyna must have pulled some kind of gypsy mojo.


Maybe this is one of those nifty “change your life” magic scenarios like in the movies. I mean, mostly I’m still expecting to blink and be right back in the midst of overpriced, gaudy tourism, but for now, the gypsy-time-warp explanation is infinitely better than thinking I’ve lost my mind. As I decide to go with that option, I feel my frantic tension melt away.


The growing crowd seems to notice my change in demeanor and begins shooting one another amused looks, but I don’t care anymore. A smile stretches across my face. Evidently, I was wrong earlier; Reyna is a psychic mind reader, because if this is her special brand of bibbity-bobbity-boo, then she made my exact daydream from earlier in the courtyard come to life.


The long red gown, the braided hair, the Italian merchant’s daughter, the time period. I am in Renaissance Florence.


I stare dumbly at the ground, the words and reality sinking in.


I’m in Renaissance Florence!

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Tempest

Julie Cross is my agency sister and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Tempest via my fab agent, top 10 YA seller on Publisher's Marketplace, Suzie Townsend!

TEMPEST has huge raps. To be released in January 2011, it has already been optioned for film with Summit (makers of Twilight), and has a first print run of over 250K!

Here's the blurb:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time.

But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps.
Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

This book made my head spin (in a good way!) with its breakneck pace.

Loved Jackson (and loved a YA from male POV) and his romance with Holly, his feelings for her a major motivator throughout the book for his actions.

I like a book grounded in solid conflict.
I also like interesting, layered secondary characters and Tempest had that in spades.

From an author's perspective, I'm in awe of how Julie Cross kept the plot timeline fluid in this book.
Would've been a huge challenge to write! Kudos.

And it's definitely a 'film' book, one I can see playing out on the big screen.

While I'm away at conference this weekend, what are you reading?

Weekend Book Club: Girl Saves Boy

I'm blown away that this book was written by a 16 yo teenager.

Not because of the language or the way it was written but for the subject matter and the realistic way it is explored.

Here's the blurb:

The first time we met, Jewel Valentine saved my life.

Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher? No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening…But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?
With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way.
But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own.
Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.

Melburnian Steph Bowe takes a heavy subject and injects it with just enough humour to have you turning pages in her wonderful YA debut.

Her very real characters explore a complex range of emotions in a beautiful, poignant, readable way.

What are you reading this week?

Weekend Book Club: Before I Fall

Warning: this is one of those books that will stay with you long after you've finished.

Lauren Oliver's YA BEFORE I FALL weaves a powerful story around a popular girl you can't help but dislike, yet you empathise with totally.

Here's the blurb:

What if you only had one day to live?
What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot.
Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing

The character development in this story is brilliant.
The characters, particularly Sam, really 'talk' to you.
You won't want to put this down.

(As an aside, Fox 2000 has optioned the rights to this book. It's Oliver's second novel to be optioned for film, after her January 2011 release, Delirium, was picked up in June.)

What are you reading this weekend?

Trends in YA

If you're writing young adult or middle grade, you absolutely must read this post by agent/author Mandy Hubbard.

She just returned from a trip to NYC where she met with editors at major publishing houses and here's her take on what's trending in YA & MG at the moment.

Miss Snark's new contest

If you write YA & middle grade fiction, Miss Snark is running a contest.

Full details here.