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!

Cover Love #7 Featuring Some Fab Fontage

It's cover love time!

I am such a font freak these days. I was at an AFL Grand Final party this weekend and since everyone was talking, the die-hard fans had the subtitles on.
Does Sarah even notice what they're saying? Of course not. She's wondering what font the subtitles are written in.

I have been clicking on and saving so many great books covers lately, you don't even know. There's a lot of awesome out there.

Behold!

The title font and colouring is so
eye catching and cool!

So much atmosphere.
And the texturing really adds to that.

The setting, the costuming, the lighting,
and check out that font for The Agency!

Love the simplicity, the bright pink sash
and title font. Lovely.

Am I right? You don't have to tell me. I know I am. They're all most excellent in their own ways.

Finished my last two assignments for my ENTIRE Bachelor's degree this weekend. HELL YES I DID. As someone who did two years of an Education degree before deciding she didn't really want to be a teacher followed by a year of a Bachelor of Writing & Publishing full-time before having to cut back to part-time for the next two years...I am so ready to not be a university student anymore, you don't even know.

What did you do this weekend? What do you think of the pretty that is the book covers above? Look like great books, am I right?

Love you all,

Short, Sassy & Scary! Available Now!

Hello most excellent ones!

I have NEWS. Firstly I got out of suburbia this weekend and headed to the country to visit one of my bestest friends in Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia.

On the way there, I had to pull over and take a photo of the sunset because it was absolutely beautiful.

But then I looked at the photo, and it makes me think I seem to have survived the apocalypse. Don't you think? Yowza.

I seem to have gotten into the WORST ROUTINE EVER and am wide awake and working at 6am these days, so while my friend was sleeping off the end of the school term (she's an English teacher, who, I discovered today, yells homework assignments at her students as they walk past her down the street. I think all three of us - the student, the teacher and I - were horrified at this development), for a couple of hours before she got up I was hard at work on what I have to say is my favourite scene so far of the The Kiss Off book two. 

And. AND. New books alert!

Well. Sort of new. I have bundled three of my short contemporary young adult titles into the Sarah Billington Short & Sassy Collection: Volume One, and a mixed bag of four of my scary stories into the Sarah Billington Short & Scary Collection: Volume One.

Observe:

Pretty, yes? And by buying in bulk, it's cheaper for YOU, and I make more money. Win-win, right? 

AND though I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the cover for my middle grade novel Life Was Cool Until You Got Popular, I can't use it for the print edition which IS BEING MADE AND WILL HOPEFULLY BE AVAILABLE WITHIN 6-8 WEEKS.

And though I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cover up there, I SUPER LOVE the new cover. For realz. And you'll see it soon, I promise.

That's it from me for now. How about you?

In Which I Become a Complete Brent Crawford Fan Girl

I love Will Carter.

Truly I do. In a kind of, he'd be the funniest yet most annoying little brother ever, but I want to pat him on the head and say "aw, my boy's all growed up (but not entirely)" way.

Hi, my name is Sarah Billington and I am a complete Brent Crawford fan girl.

He brought Carter into my life a couple of years ago with this book...

Carter Finally Gets It

Meet Will Carter, but feel free to call him Carter. (Yes, he knows it's a lazy nickname, but he didn't have much say in the matter.) 
Here are five things you should know about him: 

1. He has a stuttering problem, particularly around boobs and belly buttons. 

2. He battles Attention Deficit Disorder every minute of every day...unless he gets distracted. 

3. He's a virgin, mostly because he's no good at talking to girls (see number 1). 

4. He's about to start high school. 

5. He's totally not ready. 

Join Carter for his freshman year, where he'll search for sex, love, and acceptance anywhere he can find it. In the process, he'll almost kill a trombone player, face off with his greatest nemesis, suffer a lot of blood loss, narrowly escape death, run from the cops (not once, but twice), get caught up in a messy love triangle, meet his match in the form of a curvy drill teamer, and surprise the hell out of everyone, including himself.

And then again with this book... 

Carter's Big Break

After surviving freshman year (just barely), Carter is craving his summer break. Unfortunately, when he and his girlfriend, Abby, part ways, it looks as though summer just might break him. Things start to look up when he's unexpectedly cast in an independent film opposite the world's biggest tween sensation, Hilary Idaho. With Hollywood knocking on his door, Carter gets a taste of the good life. But as the film spirals out of control, he begins to fear that he's not the "somebody" he thinks he is and more the "nobody" he's sure he always has been. Find out if Carter goes Hollywood...or Hollywood goes Carter. 

And then, most recently, I got to hang with Carter and his boys again in this book...

Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind

After an eventful freshman year and disastrous summer, fifteen-year-old Will Carter returns to Merrian High none the wiser. His sophomore year will present a host of new problems: the return of Scary Terry from juvie, the pregnant presence of Amber Lee, friends-with-benefits negotiations with Abby, prom night expectations, and the ever-constant harassment from his boys. When Abby announces that she might be transferring to a New York arts school, Carter's world is turned upside down and he'll be forced to make the biggest decision of his life. In his signature voice, author Brent Crawford details young Will Carter's high school struggles, this time focusing on Carter's discovery of his true passion and the sacrifices he'll need to make.



While reading, I laughed out loud a whole bunch of times and subjected my sister and her boyfriend to funny paragraphs that I thought were simply genius. I had them trapped in a car so they couldn't run away from me and my Carter recital anyway. They could roll their eyes (which my sister did when I first started) but they both laughed when I started reading (at the book, not at me. I think) so it all ended up brilliantly.

The Carter series is just so REFRESHING. Contemporary fiction from the boy's point of view, and OH how different it is to a girl's.

There are no boys to swoon over in these books, these are the kind of boys who push each other over and shave off someone's eyebrow because they think it's funny.

And in Carter's world, it totally is.

If you like comedies and contemporary young adult fiction I highly recommend these books. Seriously. I don't know Brent Crawford (I totally want to write him a fan letter though, but don't know how to contact him) but am a big, big fan.

I can't wait for the next book. I really really hope there will be a next book.

So this is my fan girl post. I'm sharing the book love. What books, movies, bands or things do you LOVE SO MUCH OH SO MUCH that you want the world to also recognise the awesome (mostly so you have someone to talk about it with)?

Love,

FREE BOOKS: Edwina Ray and Sarah Billington - When 2 Become 1

Some of you may know that I sort of have two personalities. There is Sarah Billington who is kind of upbeat and happy and tortures her characters with humiliation, and then there is Edwina Ray who is a bit darker, a bit scarier and tortures her characters with actual torture.

I kept the two types of genres I write fairly separate through the two names, but by no means did I make it a secret that Edwina was Sarah but with more eye liner.

Let's face it, I can't tell lies, I get all weird and obvious, so if anyone was to ACTUALLY call me Edwina (even though it IS my middle name) I would go all red and weird and stupid.

I don't think any of us deserve to go through the awkwardness of that.

SO. Edwina Ray's stories are getting rolled into Sarah Billington! This means that soon, Sarah Billington, the author is going to have a dark side some readers might be a bit surprised about.

I was a little worried, as the author of a middle grade novel for girls (Life Was Cool Until You Got Popular) that those readers might inadvertently pick up another Sarah Billington story and end up scarred by the inner-workings of a zombie's food-related fantasies (I, Zombie) because they didn't realise there would be a big, big difference between the two types of stories I write.

But my readers are smart people. And the covers of the scarier stories sure give off a different feel to the covers of the humour titles. I think we're good.

To celebrate the merging of Edwina Ray and Sarah Billington, I have two short stories going COMPLETELY FREE on Amazon.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

FREE Aug 31 - Sept 3, 2012

In the small town of Carringwood, Doug and every other resident turn out to watch the drama as the Gabarski home burns down. Luckily Shana and the kids got out. And her husband Peter is mysteriously absent. Speculation runs rife through the town, why are arson investigators here? Did Peter do it? Why did he do it? But Doug wonders something else. If it wasn't Peter, who was it?

Life Was Easier When Boys 

Were Stupid

                                         FREE Aug 31 - Sept 4, 2012

Jess is at a party and girls and boys around her are locked together at the lips and hips. When did everyone grow up so fast? She's not sure she wants to, but her girl friend Carla points out a boy across the room with eyes only for Jess. 

Life Was Easier When Boys Were Stupid won the Gippsland Award in the Fellowship of Australian Writers Awards.

LIFE WAS EASIER INCLUDES A SNEAK PEEK AT CHAPTER ONE OF THE HIT NEW NOVEL: THE KISS OFF!

Get a taste of both sides of Sarah Billington FOR FREE. If you feel so inclined (and I really hope you do), leave a short review, as reviews are integral to any author's success.

BUT THERE'S MORE!

The Kiss Off

99c FOR ONE WEEK ONLY

WARNING: Sexual references, occassional course language.

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global. 

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she's along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn't as easy as she had hoped. 

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

Just as an added extra. :)

Happy reading, lovelies!