First, check out yesterday’s guest post at Cocktails & Books about how to avoid the dreaded Second (Middle) Book Syndrome: Middle books in a trilogy have gotten a bad rap, particularly in YA.  They’re often known to be bland filler, simply a bridge between the first and last books in the series, where not much of anything happens and the characters just kind of, well, stagnate, whittling away the hours while they (and the readers…) wait (im)patiently for Book 3 to come along.

Excerpt and giveaway at Books with Bite Guest post featuring another Sayings SMACKDOWN (this time w/ Lizzie and Janie) at Coffee Books & Me A great review (“another great novel that captured my attention with standout characters and worldbuilding”) and excerpt at An Avid Reader’s Musings Author interview, review, and giveaway at Red Reader Reviews Review, giveaway, and guest post (“Why I Love the First Line of Shudder”) at Bex ‘n’ Books Follow the links above for the full sto

Here’s a snippet of the guest post over at To Read or Not to Read: Sometimes… characters just won’t do what you want them to do. I guess this is the problem with a well-developed character – she is no longer an object under your control, she’s a living, breathing person with motivations and thoughts and feelings all her own. And sometimes, even when she’s supposed to be the big, tough heroine of your story, she just doesn’t want to be. And we – as the readers – just have to d

First, check out the 4.5-star Stitch review at Escape Into A Book.  Then swing by Tressa’s Wishful Endings to hear what Tressa had to say about both Stitch & Shudder – here’s a sneak peek: I really liked Alessa’s character. I thought she was a great MC and I connected with her and her struggles under the circumstances she was dealing with…. The society and plot were plausible (for a scifi/paranormal) to me as well. The drugs used on the people and separation of the classes; t

First, swing by Books & Such for the guest post, “What’s In a Name? How I Titled Shudder” along with an awesome review.  Here’s a sneak peek of both: From the guest post: You’d think that writing a book is the most difficult part of the process, but for me, that’s generally not the case – coming up with a decent title once I’ve written the thing is *infinitely* harder.  After all, a good title is as important as a good cover – it’s just reality that readers are going to make

Anyway, I got to meet with the Humanities club which is run by two of my favorite teachers, Ms. McLeod and Mrs. Fine (shout out also to Mr. Stack for organizing!), and 20+ AMAZING students showed up for the discussion.  I was SO blown away by these kids, seriously – they ranged from freshmen to seniors and were just so incredibly thoughtful and bright and well-read, and had so much to say about a great variety of topics. We touched on everything from my inspiration for Stitch

It’s almost here! Squeeee!!  (Okay, I’m really not a squee-er, but you get the point.) So I know my blogging has been a little slow lately (sorry!), and that’s because I’ve been working diligently on finishing up the revisions to Shudder and getting this publishing/promotion train MOOOVIN’! I’ve now got an almost-final ARC manuscript ready to send to the printer (and to myself for e-book formatting, ughhhh), 80+ bloggers signed up for the tour (and more on the way!), and a lo

In a new guest post up today at Reutreads, I’m offering a glimpse into the handful of things that are keeping me awake in these nights leading up to Shudder’s release.  Here’s a quick preview: 1. How do I make my book NOT SUCK? Okay, I’ll be straight with you – I don’t think the current draft of my next book sucks. I actually think it’s pretty good. But I thought that about my last book, too, up until the day I released it, and then almost immediately after I realized that I

I just got back from what was definitely one of the *coolest* experiences I’ve had as an author thus far – I got to visit the Stamford High School Book Club (in Stamford, CT) for an awesome discussion about Stitch (which they read recently) and my experience as an author! Let me tell you – talking to readers is about the awesome-est thing ever (and yes I know awesome-est isn’t word, but it is now!!), and I hear from a lot of you guys online (which is AMAZING), but this was my

When I finished the first draft of Shudder a few days ago, I promised I would follow up with some beta reader reactions after they’d had some time to read.  Well, here you go!  :-) Yeah, the beta readers kinda looked a little like this… “You are sick!” “What is <name hidden to avoid spoilers> thinking??  Betraying the rebels?  Really??” “AHHHH WHY DOESN’T SHE KILL HIM?” “I’m actually experiencing a book hangover after finishing that, so I decided to re-read Stitch for a littl

Put on your party hats, people – I’ve got news!  As of about 15 minutes ago, the Shudder-o-Meter is 100% complete!!! Ta-daaaaa! That’s right!  After a MARATHON weekend of writing, the first draft is finished, fini, finito, caput! And I’m so, so excited about how it turned out.  No beta reader comments yet – I need to give them a few days to read the final chapters – but I’ll post some as soon I hear back from them.  Trust me, after the last chapter… they’re going to have some

So… Easter weekend got a *bit* in the way of my progress with the Shudder drafts the past few days, but never fear – the release train is still on schedule!  In fact, starting today and continuing for the next few weeks, you may notice some Shudder buzz popping up at your favorite book blogs… And that’s because it’s time to reveal the Shudder cover!  So without further ado, here ya go: Here’s a little more about what you can expect to see in Shudder: It’s only been three days

I LOVE me a good twist.  That moment when everything drops away and you suddenly see the world for how it *really* is – well, there’s nothing quite like it.  Think back to the first time you saw The Sixth Sense, when you found out Bruce Willis was dead.  Or Lost, when you found out everyone on the island was dead (or were they?  I’m still not quite sure what happened!).  Or the first season of American Horror Story, when they revealed that the daughter was dead.  (Hmm, I’m st

Update on the Shudder-o-Meter: it reached 71%!  That’s almost 3/4’s done! Here’s what the beta readers had to say about the latest set of chapters: “I think they should have packed bigger guns…”“I really loved these chapters.  Keep ’em coming!”“Oooh, a bit racy!!!” We’re about to get into some of the biggest reveals of the story, so I’m really excited to finish up!!  My goal is to complete the first draft by the end of the month, but I’ll be honest – I’m not sure if I’m going

Thanks so much to author Alexandra Lanc for tagging me in her post for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.  If you haven’t heard of it before, The Next Big Thing Blog Hop is a way to help readers discover new authors by us new authors tagging each other in posts that move along to a new blog every few weeks! Below are some questions about me and what I’m working on now.  Alexandra answered these same questions in her post on the 5th, and in two weeks, author Ellen Stokes will answer

As I’d hoped, the beta readers had a chance to catch up on the latest chapters over the weekend, so here’s your Shudder-o-Meter update: 55%! Here’s what they had to say: “Whew – I’m relieved.  Almost cried in the last chapters!” (Coming from someone who doesn’t cry easily, that’s quite a compliment!)“Looks like they found what they were looking for!!”“Did they just stumble upon some… firepower? <maniacal grin>” More updates coming next week! #process #shudder #shudderometer #

Hey guys!  Sorry things have been kind of light on the blog this week.  You’ll notice that’s it’s going to be like this for the next couple months, since I’m winding down on the Stitch promotion and putting that effort into finishing up Shudder and beginning the marketing efforts for that book. See what I mean about the snow? I do have a Shudder-o-Meter update coming soon, but I’m waiting to hear back from some of my beta readers before I post it so I can get you guys some go

Ah, I’m such a turd!  I totally forgot to post this week’s Shudder-o-Meter update, which is all the more a shame because I was SO excited to share that I’m JUST ABOUT HALF DONE! See?  48%! “He CAN’T actually be dying, right???  You wouldn’t do that to Alessa!  PLEASE don’t do that to Alessa!!” #process #shudder #shudderometer #writing

Now, I’m as big of a Twilight fan as the next girl.  But I’ll be honest here – Bella Swan drove me absolutely nuts, and frankly, so did Edward Cullen.  I managed to fall in love with these characters despite my better judgment, because let’s face it, it was an engaging story (and I was extremely gratified to see Bella’s transformation by the end, thank you Stephenie Meyer!).  But there was always that nagging voice in the back of my mind whispering, “How can you ever wholehea

You see, the thing I’ve decided I love about writing a sequel is that so MUCH of the work is done already – now I just get to play.  In Book 1, the world was built – so now I just have to fill in all the fun little details that make it real.  The characters came to life in the previous book – so now I just have to let them lead the story.  And after reading the last one, the reader already *knows* all the background – that means I can jump right into the action!  (And the rom