The Blog Tour of Epicness! Starts Thursday!

As all good music acts do, Academy of Lies is going on tour and they're taking The Kiss Off with them!

Check out all these brilliant places the book and I will be stopping by! And if you haven't read it already and the bloggers kinda make you want to, well, who am I to stop you? It's available everywhere so feel free to grab yourself a copy!

There will be interviews, a couple of guest posts, stacks of reviews and even some sneaky-peeks at scenes from The Kiss Off TWO which isn't released until 2013.

Speaking of: While The Kiss Off is on tour, I'm at a beachside Summer music festival! Well. I'm WRITING a beachside Summer music festival. I am personally in a house by the beach, though. But it's Spring. Anyway, I'm hard at work on The Kiss Off 2 over here is what I'm saying. It's coming along great and will be a fun, perfect companion for The Kiss Off!

Enough about me though - check out this tour! Big props to Megan of Reading Away the Days who helped organise it!

TOUR STOPS

 

NOVEMBER

Thursday November 1: Hey! Teenager of the Year!

Friday November 2: Elz Reads

Saturday November 3: Ja'dore Happy Endings

Sunday November 4: Lizzy Ford Books

Monday November 5: I Want to Read That

Thursday November 8: Princess Reviews

Friday November 9: Julia Crane's Feature Friday!

Sunday November 11: Big Book Little Book

Thursday November 15: Book Labyrinth

Saturday November 17: I Devour Books

Sunday November 18: Book Vixen

Monday November 19: The Book Scoop

Tuesday November 20: Read and Repeat

Wednesday November 21: Uniquely Moi Books

Thursday November 22: The Book Swarm

Friday November 23: Love Big Read Big

Saturday November 24: I Love YA Fiction

Friday November 30: Itching for Books

 

DECEMBER

Saturday December 1: Debra's Book Cafe

Sunday December 2: The Reader Lines

Monday December 3: Reading Away the Days + We Fancy Books

Tuesday December 4: YA Fantasy Author

Wednesday December 5: Above Average Below Special 

Thursday December 6: Tales of Books and Bands

Friday December 7: Once Upon a Twilight + Young Adult Book Addict

Saturday December 8: Always YA at Heart + I'm a Book Shark

Monday December 10: Love YA Books 4 EVA

Tuesday December 11: Totally Bookalicious + Letters Inside Out

Wednesday December 12: For the Love of Films and Novels

Thursday December 13: My Guilty Obsession

Friday December 14: Book Passion For Life

Saturday December 15: We Do Write

Monday December 17: Cause I Said So

Tuesday December 18: Bookaholics Book Club

Wednesday December 19: The Pen & Muse

Thursday December 20: The Book Scape Report

Friday December 21: Read and Repeat

Saturday December 22: Winged Reviews

Monday December 24: Book Labyrinth

Tuesday December 25: HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Wednesday December 26: HOPE YOU BUY SOME BARGAINS TODAY!

Thursday December 27: Caffeinated Book Reviews

Friday December 28: Tina's Book Reviews

 

Come play! Read interviews, reviews and exclusive excerpts, not to mention enter to win a paperback copy of The Kiss Off!

 

See you there,

 

 



Feature Me Friday! (02) Georgia McBride, Publisher of Month9Books

 

In today's Feature Me Friday I have speculative fiction author, YAlitChat community founder and Month9Books publisher Georgia McBride with me! Let's see what life is like as a publisher.

What type of qualifications do you have and do you think it has helped you in your job?

 I have been a manager-level professional in start-ups and established corporations since 1992. My first job out of school was as a marketing manager for a major television personality. Being a good manager of people and process is essential to success in any business.
What does a typical day look like in your job? 
Hmmm. I don't tend to have typical days, but I can tell you what I've done so far today!  

1. Negotiated with an agent on a deal.

2. Responded to a new employee regarding questions about their employment contract.

3. Helped brainstorm (and rejected) tagline ideas for our new romance eNovella imprint, Swoon.

4. Reviewed and approved our Fall 2012 Rights Guide.

5. Added content to month9booksblog.com.

6. Approved art for new postcards.

7. Updated a press releases.

8. Submitted editorial idea for major trade press magazine.

9. Approved new Month9Books online store.

10. Reviewed comments from an agent on a publishing contract.

11. Approved cover design concept for Into the Fire by Kelly Hashway.

12. Ordered print galleys for Gabriel Stone and The Divinity of Valta.

13. Sent eGalleys to NetGalley for Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta.

14. Scheduled 2 meetings.

15. Updated YALITCHAT topic for Weds.

16. Updated content on YALITCHAT.ORG.

What do you like most about your job?

I love bringing stories to readers. I love interacting with the authors of these stories and helping them make them the best they can possibly be. I love being able to make dreams come true. I also love negotiating deals, and of course, the marketing planning is fun. I know. I am a geek. Oh, and I  LOVE LOVE LOVE working on covers and providing art direction to the designers and illustrators.
What do you like LEAST about your job?
I hate having to reject submissions. 

Is there a duty that you perform as a part of your job that might surprise people?

My entire job is about duty: to the reader, to the author and her or his family, to the author's agent, to my staff, my distributor, co-agents, etc. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility and duty to everyone Month9Books touches. 

What can authors do to help you help THEM?

Be flexible. Try to learn about the business. Be willing to try new things and take direction. 

What do you wish authors wouldn’t do?

Really, the internet is the worst place to get advice. Remember that your path is yours, and the path someone else is taking may not work for you. Do not compare your book, sales, or path to someone else's. That fixation can surely break your spirit and cause you to make decisions about your career and writing out of fear and panic, leading to certain disaster. 

What do you like to do when not working?

I love hanging with friends and family, but don't get to do that often. I am a HUGE texter, so it helps me stay close to those I don't get to see much. If not working, I am normally at the movies, or catching up on shows or books I have no time to watch or read. I also love to travel. 

Share three fun facts about you: 

1) I often lie about my age. :-)
2) One of my legs is a tad shorter than the other.
3) I hate commas.

Ereader, print book or both?

Both work well for me, depending on what I need to use it for. I love the feel and emotional charge of a printed book. I like the eReader for submissions, taking books with me when traveling, and reading naughty books that would make my kids take notice if I were reading the print version. I have a Kindle, a Nook, and use my iPad for eReading mostly.


Georgia loves a good story. Whether it’s writing her own, or publishing someone else’s, story is at the heart of everything Georgia does. Founder of Month9Books, YALITCHAT.ORG and the weekly #yalitchat on Twitter, Georgia spends most of her days writing, editing, or talking about books. That is, of course, when she is not blasting really loud music or reading. She is represented by Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dail Literary Agency. PRAEFATIO is her first novel.

 

Thanks Georgia!

 

If you are a young adult author, publishing professional, book blogger or simply a book lover and would like to be interviewed for your own Feature Me Friday post, contact me at SarahBillingtonBooks AT Gmail DOT com!

Event Breakdown: Leanne Hall and Persnickety Snark (Adele Walsh) talk YA

Adele

 I went to a free event in Melbourne last Tuesday, an "in conversation" with author of This is Shyness, Leanne Hall, and he State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature Program Coordinator Adele Walsh. It was a really interesting evening and they both had a lot to say about YA in general, Australian YA in particular and misconceptions in the publishing industry.

I was sitting with a good blogger friend of mine, Steph aka Read in a Single Sitting, and she took copious notes which culminated in a much better breakdown of the night than I could ever have put together, especially as I am down with a cold at the moment with the concentration span of a fish. I am feeling ridiculously sorry for myself, so it's okay, you don't have to.

Go check out what Leanne Hall and Adele Walsh had to say over at Read in a Single Sitting.

Go do it now.

Feature Me Friday (01): Blogger Crystal of Lives and Breathes Books

Welcome to Feature Me Friday Numero Uno!!

Over the weeks I will be interviewing authors, publishing professionals, readers and book bloggers. 

This week's edition is in celebration of Book Bloggers! They often promote authors with interviews, guest posts and reviewing our books and as an author, I want to say thank you and share the love right back. Let's get to know the people behind the blogs!

Meet Crystal D. Spears!       

Blog name: Lives & Breathes Books

Blog Address: http://livesandbreathesbooks.blogspot.com/

What do you think makes a good book blogger?

 Honesty! No doubt, it’s one hundred percent honesty. If you’re going to blog about a book and make opinions on some-one else's work just be honest. And never ever put an Author down. Just blog your opinions about the book not the Author. If you want to speak about the Author make sure it's kind. Authors have enough to deal with being critiqued about writing let alone themselves.

Of all the types of blogs out there, why books?

Hmm...Because ever since I was a little girl my mom used to sit in her big black comfy rocking chair and read Cassie Edwards Novels. After I seen her purchasing so many books I got interested, I started going with her to book stores and purchasing my own reads. Then this year I stumbled upon ebooks. And I was grateful saves me trips to the store. And then I discovered all the review and book blogs and I simply fell in love. I remember the day I came upon Goodreads.com I felt like I had hit the jackpot of the book world.

How do you go about attracting new followers?

My reviews on Goodreads and Amazon I always attach a blog link. I also Twitter all my blog reviews along with using facebook.

What’s your favourite genre and what do you like about it?

This is a tough question because I love reading and reviewing all types of genres.

But if I have to choose just one it would be YA.

Who is your favourite author and why?

I have a few favs, but for now my main one is Jillian Dodd. That Boy and That Wedding changed my view on how writing can be written. It was very creative the way she chose to write those two books. And then with her newest novel Stalk Me. I was hooked.

What are you reading right now and what are your thoughts so far?

Right now I am straying from YA and I am reading The Curio Series by Cara Mckenna as they are released. It's a great heart wrenching series.

Do you think it’s important to blog regularly or just when you have something new to share?

I think it depends on what kind of blogger you want to be or are. I am the type that blogs when I read something and I have something to say about it.  I just recently helped with a Blog Tour for Annie Wells, Taking on the Dead her debut novel of her (The Famished Trilogy) and I loved it. So I am leaning more towards wanting to help Indie Authors Promote, it’s fun and for a good cause.

Ebooks, print books or both?

Ebooks at first and if they are a great read I will purchase the read in print. There is nothing like kickin' back with a paperback' , you can't cuddle the proper way with a read if it's digital. 

If you are a young adult author, publishing professional, book blogger or simply a book lover and would like to be interviewed for your own Feature Me Friday post, contact me at SarahBillingtonBooks AT Gmail DOT com!

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I done been tagged!

Author Michelle Hansen (whose debut young adult novel Painted Blind is out now, just sayin') tagged me in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop.

What's that, you ask? Well it's a blog hop in which authors answer juicy questions about what they're working on RIGHT NOW.

Juicy questions like these:

What is the working title of your book?

The Kiss Off 2

It is going to have a subheading, like, an actual INTERESTING name, but for the moment it is merely numero 2.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wanted to do something more with Poppy, her relationships with friends and foes, and the band Academy of Lies. But it couldn't really be done if I kept the crew at home in the suburbs, because chart-topping bands don't tend to hang out in the suburbs. So it made sense for me to send Poppy and (some of the) gang to a beachside music festival that Academy of Lies headline. Shenanigans ensue.

What genre does your book fall under?

Young adult chick lit. Fo' sho'.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I've been thinking about this. I don't have a super clear image of Poppy, to be honest. I do kinda envision her being like Alexs Johnson (Jude from Instant Star) though.

And Ty's always had a bit of Nick Roux going on. That's how I see them. How about you guys?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

I haven't actually thought about this yet.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

All by myself. :)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It's not finished as yet, but WILL be by Christmas. It just WILL. I took myself off to a house by the beach for a week and wrote the first 25,000 words in a week which was BRILLIANT but since I came home progress has been very slow as I prioritised my business over my writing. I'm back into it now though and really enjoying myself. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'd say Audrey Wait! by Robin Benway, crossed with Diary of a Crush 2 by Sarra Manning. But the second half where they go to a music festival and it's all kinds of hell.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My characters did. The Kiss Off was designed as a stand alone, but I wasn't done with them. I really like the world and feel there's more to them than was in The Kiss Off. I wasn't just going to write any old thing, though, I didn't have a sequel planned but when THIS idea came to me it felt right and fun and it's certainly turning out to be!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The Kiss Off 2 is chock-full of stuff! There will be:

A road trip with an unexpected passenger.
Camping.

The realisation too late that they don't actually like camping.A super hot frat boy.

Sunburns.
Accidental topless swimming.
Paparazzi punch ups.
A news-worthy (yet totally false) love triangle.
Obsessed fan girls.
A stalker.
And an overwhelming request from someone super-famous.

It's definitely not smooth sailing.

These were most excellent questions and I'm glad I was tagged. 

Now my turn to do the tagging! I HEREBY TAG:

CJ Duggan

Heather Adkins

Julia Crane!

Looking forward to your posts, ladies!