Blogger Wednesday: Adam of Roof Beam Reader

I confess I had not discovered Adam’s blog, Roof Beam Reader, until I found a review he’d written for my book Jumpstart the World. Then I was so blown away by the thoughtfulness, balance, and detail that I had to learn more. I have a great deal of respect for a number of book bloggers, but I personally do not know anyone who takes his or her responsibility to reviewing more seriously.

I promise you, the more you read his blog, the more words like “respect” will fill your head.

So. Adam. Thanks for visiting my blog for this interview.

Adam: My pleasure!  Thank you for having me. 

Me: Until I began writing these interview questions, I had read only your reviews. But I just read your post Book Blogging: a Breakdown (The Empathetic Reader and the Effective Reviewer).  I think the world would be a better place if everyone read this post in its entirety before reviewing a book. And I don’t just mean bloggers. I feel a lot of old-fashioned print reviewers have dropped the ball. Do you get the sense that this piece has been widely read? I would think it would be a link worth passing around. What kind of feedback have you gotten? Can you describe the moment when you felt compelled to write and post it? I can only imagine the observations you hoped to address, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.

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Cover Reveal! Don't Let Me Go

Exciting news. At least, I know I'm excited.

June is the month that my third new adult title, DON'T LET ME GO, comes out in a US edition. All of these adult titles have first been released from Transworld UK, and have been well-received. Last year we brought out WHEN I FOUND YOU and SECOND HAND HEART in both ebook and paperback US editions. 

Now for DON'T LET ME GO. It's coming amazingly soon. And today I saw the final cover. And I'm so excited, I have to share it. I hope you love it even half as much as I do.

I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know what you think.

If you want to know more about the book, there's a synopsis, review quotes--even a video excerpt--on my Don't Let Me Go page.

Watch this space for more news. It won't be long!

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Blogger Wednesday: Danielle of There's a Book

I first met Danielle (though not immediately in person) when I signed up for my initial blog tour. The book was Jumpstart the World, and Danielle was one of the bloggers who signed on to host a tour stop. I made it a point to follow all the tour bloggers on Twitter. That’s how I learned “the big coincidence,” though I don’t remember when, or how it first came out. In the international setting of the online book world, Danielle lives less than 45 minutes from me, a couple of towns down the road. So she joined me in one of my workshops, and we’ve met a couple of times to exchange information, books, etc.

When it comes to helping get the word out about my novels and other news, or even standing up for me online when I faced opposition, I couldn’t ask for a more supportive friend.

Her blog There’s a Book has won awards and garnered a great deal of respect. If you’re not familiar with it, this is your chance.

Now. Danielle. Your blog is devoted to juvenile literature, but that’s a wide field. You review books that are appropriate for your own pre-schoolers, and also books like Jumpstart, that are geared toward the mature high school age—or older—reader. Is it ever hard to bridge this gap? Do you ever have doubts or fears that a cutting edge YA review might seem discordant to someone who came to the site to read about picture books? Or do your readers seem able to appreciate the full range?

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Blogger Wednesday: Brent of Naughty Book Kitties

My first experience with Brent was a simple one. He sent me an email, asking if he could review my forthcoming (at the time) Young Adult novel Jumpstart the World for his blog, The Naughty Book Kitties. I contacted my Knopf publicist, had a copy mailed to him, and that was that.

Except it wasn’t.

Just days later, a Facebook friend left a post on my wall. It was about a teen book blogger who’d gone viral with his criticism of school and public librarians and their handling of LGBT literature. For those who haven’t read the post, I’ll offer the short version. When Bent was in middle school, he asked his school librarian where all the LGBT titles were hiding. She told him: “This is a school library. If you are looking to read inappropriate titles, go to a book store.”

(Or better yet, read the whole post HERE.) 

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Pay It Forward Reader Slideshow

My fourth reader slideshow is done, and this time it's all Pay it Forward, all the time. Many thanks to those who sent in photos of themselves with the book.

If you watch this slideshow and think it looks like fun to be part of it, I'll probably do another at some point. So do feel free to send a photo of you, even at this late date.

Without further ado, here are (some of) my fabulous readers of Pay It Forward:

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Pay It Forward Giveaway Hop

Two incredible bloggers (and by that I mean they have great blogs and are great people, both), Adam of Roof Beam Reader and Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag, are holding a giveaway and a blog hop for bloggers.

According to the announcements on Adam's and Lauren's blog, these events are inspired by, and intended to celebrate the work of...me.

This kind of blows me away, to put it mildly. They are giving away prize packs, at least

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