The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder (Second Review!)

The Lipstick Laws
By Amy Holder
Publisher: Graphia, 2011
237 pages, paperback
Date Finished: 11/6/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Chick Lit

At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her. For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don't even know she exists. But one lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity. But Britney's friendship comes with a high price tag. How much is April willing to pay?
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "Sitting near Darci Madison on the schoolbus is enough to put anyone with woman-sprout issues over the edge."
~Last Line: "And with that, I go to bed a proud Lipstick Lawbreaker and an ex-bra-stuffer."

Review: Talk about an awesome book! I really didn't expect it to be that good! It sort of showed me what high school could be like this upcoming year (I doubt it'll be anything like this book, but anything's possible, right? :D).

The main character, April Bowers, is a sophmore in high scool -- with no friends. Her best bud has moved away to Kansas, and somehow, on the first day, April manages to be accepted by the most popular girl in school. Things are amazing for her so far, even though her best friend warns her to stay away.

The plot was really awesome. You could tell that Amy seriously (maybe not too seriously) thought about the best way to write the characters and what happened throughout the 237 pages of the novel. Everything was just so teenish, and the reader can relate to April and her friends so weel. It all just sort of seems real!

The Lipstick Laws was most definitely an ahmazing book. I wish that it was a series, though. I've heard that they are thinking about making a tv series off of it. Hope that follows throught! :)

and a half :)

Quotes from the book:

"No girl wants to hear that she needs a makeover. I know I'm not a supermodel, but c'mon, I'm not a wilting weed in desperate need of Miracle-Gro, either."

" 'Ah, to be a teenager again . . . when noon is morning and midnight is going to bed early.' "

"I get the tortellini alfredo. It's to die for. Technically, I guess it really could be to die for . . . hence my father's nickname for it: heart attack on a plate. Regardless of its artery-clogging qualities, it's delicious."

"Mr. Stuart jumps in horror when he sees me. 'Holy smokes, April! What happened?'
'Tennis balls are hazardous weapons,' I respond cooly.
The class laughs. I'm happy that others find humor in my suffering."

________________________________________________________

And now I have an awesome interview with Amy herself! :D Enjoy!

1. What made you want to be an author?
I've always loved to write, and I dreamed of being an author when I was little. However, it wasn’t until after college that I really started thinking about pursuing it professionally. I studied psychology in college and once I was out in the real world working in the field, I realized I wouldn’t feel completely fulfilled unless I was able to do something I truly adore. Writing is that something … and I feel very lucky to have accomplished my childhood dream.

2. What gave you the idea for The Lipstick Laws?
The idea for the book was very character driven. April, the main character, was the first aspect of the story that came to me. I always knew I wanted to write a fun story about the ups and downs of high school, but the whole plot evolved by free-writing in April's voice and putting her character into what-if scenarios.

3. Would you say that you’re a Lipstick Lawlord, or a Lipstick Lawbreaker?
I'm a Lipstick Lawbreaker through and through! I could never follow the Lipstick Laws... especially Lipstick Laws two, three and four!

4. What can we expect from you in the next couple of years?
In the next couple of years, I'm hoping to have another book or two out. Also, The Lipstick Laws was recently optioned for TV, so there's a chance that it may go to production at some point -- fingers crossed. There are still many steps that would have to happen before it gets to that point...but the possibility is exciting regardless.

5. Who are your favorite authors of all-time?
The authors who sparked my love of reading and writing at a young age will always have a soft spot in my heart. Those authors are: Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary and Madeleine L'Engle. I also adore Sophie Kinsella, J.K. Rowling, and Charles Dickens. And I may be biased, but I think my fellow 2011 debut authors are pretty amazing as well!

6. Do you enjoy eating asparagus?
Haha! This may be one of the most random questions I've ever gotten in an interview.... but, yes, I do enjoy eating asparagus. Thanks for asking. :)

7. What are some of your hobbies when you’re not writing?
I love art, photography, anything that makes me laugh, baking, shopping, going to plays, spending time with family/friends...and I'm a huge animal lover, so I like spending time with my pets and/or getting involved with animal rescue groups.

8. What’s your favorite holiday of the year?
Christmas is by far my favorite holiday! In fact, I'd love to be a holiday elf - even just for a day. Preferably the day would be Christmas Eve....because dressing like a holiday elf in the middle of July would probably be a little creepy.

9. How can my followers and I stay in top of what’s happening with you and your books?
You can find me at the following links (please don't hesitate to say hi!):

Twitter: www.twitter.com/amyholderbooks
Website: www.amyholder.com
Blog: amyholderbooks.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amyholderbooks
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/amyholder

Also, if you'd like to meet me in person, check out my news and reviews page for information about upcoming events: amyholdernews.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for the interview, Zakiya!

Thank YOU, Amy, for participating!!! I really appreciate it :p

Interview with Carrie Harris!!!!

For those of you who don't know what Carrie's debut novel, Bad Taste in Boys, is about---

Someone's been a very bad zombie.

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!

She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human.

__________________________________________________________

Please help me give a marvelous Butterfly welcome to Carrie Harris everyone!!!!!! :D

1. What influenced you to start writing?
I got an F on my first creative writing assignment in Freshman English. Now, you have to understand a few things about me if you’re going to put this into perspective. Like, I’d never gotten an F before and haven’t gotten one since. And I am incredibly stubborn once someone tells me I can’t do something. So I got the F, and I was pretty sure it didn’t stand for "fabulous." So I wrote the heck out of my next assignment. The teacher gave me an A+ and had me read it for the class, and BAM. I was hooked.

2. What do you do in your spare time between writing?
Well, I’m a mom, so I do a lot of standing on the sidelines at soccer and shuttling kids to dance and trying to find socks that match. But when I have free time, I fill it with some strange hobbies, like crocheting monsters and making cupcakes shaped like skulls and collecting zombie penguins. The other moms think I’m really strange. I think that’s a compliment.

3. What’s your favorite board game?
Hmmm. Do you count Apples to Apples? Because any game that involves golf-ball sized hail and giant squid is awesome. I even played it while I was in labor with my son. My husband and friends let me win, which was probably very smart of them.

4. Who are some of your all-time favorite authors?
I could probably fill pages and pages, so here are just a few: Terry Prachett, Suzanne Collins, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Maureen Johnson, and Jonathan Maberry.

5. What can we expect from you after the release of Bad Taste in Boys?
Well, I’ve just finished edits on a new Kate Grable adventure called BAD HAIR DAY. It’s about werewolves and nanotechnology and CSI and blueberry flavored astronauts and killer coconuts. I’m really excited about it! And then I’ve got a third book in the works which will be something entirely new and different.

6. I understand that Bad Taste in Boys involves zombies. What gave you the idea for that?
I’ve always loved monsters. I knew I wanted to do a book about a completely normal person who becomes convinced that zombies are invading their town. Because the people in the movies just seem to accept it so easily. Someone runs down the street screaming, “Zombies! Zombies!” and then there’s this mass panic. I wouldn’t stand there and get eaten, but I’d be running away, going, "Are you sure it’s zombies? How do you know? Have you taken a representative sample to the lab for analysis?"

7. Do you have a favorite quote?
I’m partial to Jim Henson’s “It all ends in one of two ways. Either someone gets eaten or something blows up.” That’s kind of how I approach my books.

8. How can my followers and I keep up with you and your books?
Website: http://carrieharrisbooks.com/
Blog: http://carrieharrisbooks.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carrharr
Facebook: http://facebook.com/carrharr
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005935.Carrie_Harris


Thanks so much, Carrie, for being able to stop by the blog!!!!! :DD

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton & Interview w/Tessa!

Blood Magic (Blood Journals, #1)

By Tessa Gratton

Publisher: Random House Children's Books, 2011

405 pages, hardcover

Date Finished: 19/6/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Romance, Action

Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...


Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I am Josephine Darly, and I intend to live forever."
~Last Line: "Silla stared at the eyes of the first one and reached out her hand."

Review: Blood Magic was not what I thuoght it would be. It was even better!!

I was so instantaneously pulled in to the story as Silla received the book full of spells that was simply signed "The Deacon." He obviously knew her father if he was sending this to her, but her dad would never have believed in magic, right? Wll, it's wrong.

The characters in this novel were really awesome. They were thought out for sure. I would like to applaud Tessa (and every other author whose book I'm reviewing this week) for their amazing details! You could be probably be the character/s if they got any more descriptive. That's definitely a good thing, though!

The plot line of Blood Magic is  unquestionably original if you ask me. I've never read a book like this at all. Entirely intriguing and a completely new concept. I really loved it and can't wait until The Blood Keeper is released!! :)

 (10 out of 5)

Quotes from the book:

"And just like that she was crying. I felt a little like That Guy who holds a baby at arm's length because he's afraid it's going to pee on him.."

" 'Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.'
Automatically, I replied, 'I'd like to see your deep--' but thank God I stopped before I said something unforgiveable in front of her grandma.
And her brother."

" 'It was Lilith, wasn't it? What did that b---h say now?'
'Nicholas Pardee, you will not, I repeat, not refer to MAry by that awful name.'
'Which one?' "

______________________________________________________________

And now, for the interview with Tessa Gratton herself!!!!!!!

1. Have you always wanted to be an author?
Since I was about 8! I wanted to be other things, too. A ballerina, a paleontologist, an actor, and a wizard. (I still want to be a wizard.)

2. What gave you the idea for Blood Magic?
I was walking my dog around the park, and I just thought of it! Originally, it was about a brother and sister dealing with magical powers, with an evil body-snatcher after them!

3. If you could go anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go?
Oh, everywhere! Someplace I know I love: either Sydney, Australia, or Budapest, Hungary. If it’s a place I haven’t been but want to go… Sweden.

4. Who are some of your favorite authors?
Robin McKinley, Patricia McKillip, Kristin Cashore, Anne Rice, Melina Marchetta, Tim O’Brien.

5. What can we expect from you within the next few years?
I have a companion novel to Blood Magic out in the next year, and after that, I can’t say! Hopefully a new series!

6. What do you l ike to do when you’re not writing?
I’m addicted to Netflix – especially crime dramas and comedy. I also love walking outside under the big Kansas sky and spending time grilling with friends.

7. Do you have a favorite movie?
Oooo. Um. “Spirited Away” probably, if I HAVE to pick one. It’s AMAZING.

8. Is there a specific day that you love to write on?
Any of them! All of them!

9. How can my followers and I keep up with you?
I’ve got a website: http://www.tessagratton.com/, with links to my blog, Twitter, FB page, GoodReads page, and YouTube page. I’m all over the place!


Awesome interview, Tessa!

Authors Sara Dailey and Staci Weber Interview!

Sinful Interview and Giveaway!

All of us ladies here at the blog are very excited to be hosting our version of a holiday giveaway! And we want to start by saying a big thank you to both Sara Dailey and Staci Weber, authors of their debut novel SINFUL, for letting us host a giveaway, starting tomorrow, as well as giving us their time for this interview! Thank you both so much!

1)How did you come up with idea that would become Sinful?

First, I want to thank y’all for having us on your blog and allowing us to get the word out to your readers about our debut novel, SINFUL. Kate was actually the first person to review SINFUL, so we are really excited to get to be here. And a special thanks to Kate for seeking us out 

A few years ago, we were both reading YA novels like mad and joked about writing one of our own. As middle school English teachers we thought, “How hard can it be, right?” Ha! Well, Staci had a crazy dream that she thought would make a great book, and it didn’t take much convincing to get Sara onboard. Before we knew it, we were plotting out our novel. In the end, it was far different from Staci’s dream, but it was that dream that sparked the idea that became SINFUL.

2) Wow, that's so awesome! I love dreams that turn into books, I think those are some of the best! So, how did you both go about writing it together? Did one of you write and give it to the other to add and edit? Did one of you write while sharing ideas?

Amazingly enough, no blood was shed. We really do work well together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to say what we think. We had no idea what we were doing at first or how it would work writing together, but we started meeting once a week, and it all just kind of worked out. We would sit and drink coffee at Starbucks while passing the computer back and forth as we wrote. The majority of the revising and editing, we did on our own time, but the most of the writing took place when were together.

3) That sounds pretty organized. I was always cruious how co-writers...well...write together. I just adore Michael, he is one of my favorite characters in Sinful. He is so different from all the guys that I’ve been reading about in books lately, actually ever. He’s sweet, sensitive, but still strong. How did you come up with him?

We’re not really sure how Michael came to be exactly. Like we said, we didn’t really know what we were doing when we started, but one thing we did know was that all too often in YA novels, the main conflict is between the main character and her love-interest, and we wanted the conflict to be an outside source, which allowed us to create “a good guy” in Michael. We’re glad that we didn’t make Michael the fallen angel. We like that our love-interest for Elizabeth is the kind of guy that teens should long to be with, not the “bad boy” (though we are both quite found of our fallen angel too).

4) I too was drawn to Daniel, the fallen angel, but I still love Micheal. I really like your thoughts behind the "love interest". I think it's an amazing change from the bad boys, but I still love them too! Ok so, just for my own curiosity, why angels? I love them but is there a specific reason you chose them?

Believe it or not, at the time we started writing SINFUL, there were no YA romances on the shelves about angels. So, the answer that question is because we wanted to do something different. Little did we know, books about angels would be coming out right and left after our novel was already written. Just about the time we signed our contract with our publisher, angel book after angel book hit the shelf. It takes a long time for a book to get published, and it was an 18 month wait before we actually saw our novel in print. In fact, our original title for SINFUL was FALLEN. Our novel was titled FALLEN for almost two years before we had to change it last December when Lauren Kate’s book came out.

5) I was actually happy with the title change! I think it really works for the book, and it really fits the cover. Are there any special foods, or anything really, that get you through the writing process?
Not food, but caffeine is a must. We rarely write anywhere other than Starbucks, so of course some type of caffeinated beverage is always purchased and consumed.

6)What are one or two things that you NEED when writing?

As I said above, caffeine, but we also have to have our notes. We have proven to ourselves over the years that we take the absolute worst notes, but we can’t seem to work without them. We plan out our chapters and keep notes about things we need to go back and add and stuff we might want to add later. We never fail to amuse ourselves when we go back to read all the great ideas that we had, but then we can’t understand our own notes. We try really hard to be specific now, but we still usually have to piece our “brilliant ideas” back together.

7) What are some of your favorite YA books?

How much time do you have? Let’s see - 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson Unwind by Neal Shusterman Venomous by Chris Krovatin Numbers by Rachel Ward The Hate List by Jennifer Brown A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb Impossible by Nancy Werlin Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause Anything by John Green North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles Willow by Julia Hoban We could go on and on, but those are some that stand out in our mind as really good YA reads.

8) Those are some really good books! Though I still have most of them on my to-read pile. Will there be more paranormal beings in the future?

The series we are working on now is about werewolves. We hope for it to be a several book series, but we don’t plan to stop there. We have tons of ideas (mostly rolling around in Staci’s head), so there will definitely be other paranormal beings in the future.

9) I can't wait to see what other characters you both will create. I have to ask, will we be seeing both Michael and or Elizabeth again? I sure hope so!

SINFUL was written as a stand-alone novel, so there won’t be another book about Michael and Elizabeth, but we’ve discussed writing Daniel’s story. It would be fun, but it's not in the works right now.

10) I would love a book with Daniel as the main character! Please write it! May I ask how did you both get the idea for Static? It’s completely different from Sinful.

We’re not sure exactly how we came up with the story line, but we wanted to do a series like some of the adult romance series that we read, in which each book is about different people that are all a part of a group of some sort. Thus, the Red Ridge Werewolf Pack was born. The first book, STATIC, is about Allison and her love interest Cade, and then each book after that will be about other members of the pack. We both get tired of reading series about the same main characters, so this way we can write a series and hopefully not get sick of our own characters.

11) I cannot wait for this new series! It sounds so good. Can you tell us anything about Static? And when is the release date?

In STATIC, seventeen-year-old Allison Wright is turning into a werewolf; she just doesn’t know it yet. When her new behaviors become too much for her to control, her mother makes the difficult decision to move her family back to her old pack where Allison meets the wolf of her dreams. Unfortunately, he is already taken by Kendall, a girl who will do anything to keep him and her position in the pack. When Kendall teams up with a rogue werewolf with an agenda of his own, things get hairy (ha ha). We are currently looking for an agent to represent STATIC, which will hopefully lead to STATIC being picked up by a publishing house. That means STATIC is nowhere near a release date, but if everything goes the way we hope it does, STATIC will be on the shelf someday in the not-too-distant future.

12) Hopefully sooner rather than later! Any other ideas of what you’re doing after Static?

After the holidays, we plan to start plotting out the sequel to STATIC. It will be about Allison’s “were-challenged” brother Aiden. Aiden’s character provides quite a bit of the comic relief in STATIC so it should be fun to write.

Thank you so much for taking the time to let us interview you both! You can find Sara and Staci's book SINFUL online at your favortie bookstore! Or you can enter our contest starting tomorrow. That's right starting Christmas Eve we will be hosting our own holiday giveaway! So stop by tomorrow for a chance to win your own signed copy, that's right SIGNED, and a SINFUL postcard. So Happy Holidays and Good Luck!

Questions and Answers from Maggie Stiefvater

I don't know how many of you remember our lovely War of the Books between Elyssa and myself. We chose to do it with the book Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (click HERE if you want to help yourself remember). Well, anyway, I had sent her some questions for the occasion and hadn't heard back. Normally, I just thought she was super busy and could not get to them.

Any how, last week I was overjoyed to notice that she replied to my 3 questions. So, being that today is my day to post, I am posting them here for all to see. They are quite interesting to me, so I hope you all enjoy them. I do love Maggie Stiefvater!

Q&A:

Me: Did you have any word about the cover art for any of your novels, e.i. Lament, Ballad, Shiver, Linger, Forever

Maggie: The cover I had the most say in was Ballad's; it was based off a concept I came up with when Flux decided to change the look of the series. More than anything I wanted to evoke the idea that PEOPLE PROBABLY GET BURNED ALIVE IN THIS BOOK. Everything else was secondary. The others, I have gotten the right of Wigging Out on. In other words, the publisher came up with the cover, showed it to me, and if I wigged out, they would consider changing it.

Me: Do you have any new major writing projects coming up that we should watch out for (other than the Shiver series)?

Maggie: Oh yes indeedy. I have a standalone paranormal YA involving blood, beaches, and kissing. It will be coming out not too long after FOREVER.

Me: Where is your favorite travel spot and why?

Maggie: Apparently I keep visiting cliffs these days. But my favorite destinations invariably involve rocks, raining, and preferably anything you could describe as "moors."

Thanks again Maggie for taking the time to answer my questions! You really are a wonderful author and it was so fabulous to hear from you! :D