Novel Novice

Okay, so Heidi R. Kling may have beaten me to the punch on this one yesterday … but I’m still going to give my props to Maggie Stiefvater for Author Appreciation Week today.

Maggie’s books are not fluffy romances. They are intense novels about homicidal faeries and tragic, book-loving, musical werewolves. Her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy has seriously taken hold of the Young Adult fantasy world in the last several months — ever since the release of Shiver. (Book 2, Linger is due out in July; Book 3 Forever should come out in 2011).

Readers who loved Shiver should also check out her slightly-less-well-known books about the aforementioned homicidal faeries — Lament and Ballad. They are intense stories, rich in Irish folklore and chock-full of heartbreaking romance (not to be confused with the fluffy kind).

What’s so great about Maggie’s books is her knack for combining intensely serious, hard-core, nail-biting moments with some of the snarkiest humor ever. (One of my favorite lines comes from Lament, in which the narrator comments, “I once again fought against the desire to bitch-slap a faerie.”) Maggie’s also not afraid to include touchy subjects in her books, despite falling into the YA category. There’s an f-bomb delicately used in Lament. The subjects in her book include murder, rape, consensual teenage sex. But none of it is superfluous; it’s all part of the story and part of what makes her novels so much richer than others.

Plus, Maggie is among an elite group of authors who (gasp!) interact with their readers! Maggie maintains a Facebook page, twitter account, live journal, blog and more. (All this will writing, making music, creating her own book trailers, and, oh yeah, having a life). She even took the time to write a personal “hello” note on my Facebook wall after I sent her a friend request. And she’s got well over 3,000 friends. And she took the time to send us each a quick personal note. Wow. Just, wow.

So thanks, Maggie — for writing amazing books and being generally awesome, all-around.

Books by Maggie Stiefvater:

• Lament
• Ballad
• Shiver
• Linger (due out July 2010)
• Forever (expected 2011)

Throughout this month, we’re featuring certain Beatles songs that have a certain significance to our Book of the Month, The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. The Beatles play a significant role in the novel, and were a big influence for Eulberg. Each of the songs we feature will be important to the novel.

Today, we’re featuring “Yesterday,” which is quoted on page 3 of The Lonely Hearts Club:

“Yesterday … Love was such an easy game to play …”

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly,
I’m not half the man I used to be,
There’s a shadow hanging over me,
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go
I don’t know she wouldn’t say.
I said something wrong,
Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Why she had to go
I don’t know she wouldn’t say.
I said something wrong,
Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm.

Lots of big releases today:

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith

On the run . . .

Elena Gilbert’s love, the vampire Stefan Salvatore, has been captured and imprisoned by demonic spirits who are wreaking havoc in Fell’s Church. While her friends Bonnie and Meredith explore the evil that has taken over their town, Elena goes in search of Stefan.

In order to find him, she entrusts her life to Stefan’s brother, Damon Salvatore, the handsome but deadly vampire who wants Elena, body and soul. Along with her childhood friend Matt, they set out for the slums of the Dark Dimension, where Stefan is being held captive. It is rumored to be a world where vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live enslaved to their supernatural masters. . . .

Elena will stop at nothing to free Stefan. Yet with each passing day the tension between Elena and Damon grows, and she is faced with a terrible decision: Which brother does she really want?

Back in Fell’s Church, Bonnie and Meredith have made some dire discoveries. They hastily try to follow Elena and warn her—only to be caught up in Elena’s most dangerous adventure yet.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

Lord Sunday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins.

In this thrilling conclusion to Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series, Arthur Penhaligon must complete his quest to save the Kingdom he is heir to … and Arthur’s world.

Also in new YA releases today:

• Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
• Split by Stefan Petrucha
  

Suzanne Collins probably doesn’t really need me to toot her horn … but I’ve spent a very intense weekend devouring The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, so it wouldn’t seem right if I didn’t include her for Author Appreciation Week.

Let me share my story.

I’ve heard lots and lots and LOTS of buzz about The Hunger Games over the last couple years. It sounded interesting. I wanted to read it. But there are lots of books I want to read, so it sort of got pushed aside. Fast-forward to January this year … I became even more involved in the world of YA lit than ever before when we launched this site, and I started hearing even more about The Hunger Games (as if that were even possible). Then, I came very close to reading spoilers about what happens in the books. It quickly became apparent that I needed to read this book pronto.

So while browsing at the book store a few weeks ago, I picked up The Hunger Games. I thought of buying book 2, Catching Fire at the same time, but thought, Oh, no, Sara. Let’s be practical. Make sure you like the first book before you go buying the sequel.

Silly, silly me.

I started reading The Hunger Games last week, and by Friday night, I was really into the thick of it. I finally forced myself to go to sleep with about 100 pages left — but I woke up early Saturday morning and plowed through the rest of the book. I was done by 9am, at which point I promptly showered and rushed to the book store to purchase Catching Fire. Then I spent the next five hours reading the entire thing.

And then, of course, I gasped, screamed and wailed, bemoaning the wait until August 24th, when book 3, Mockingjay, will finally be released.

Needless to say, I’ve got a new favorite trilogy and I literally can’t stop thinking about these books. I totally get the hype and I’m on board.

Books by Suzanne Collins:

• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
• Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3 due out Aug. 24, 2010)
• Gregor the Overlander: Book One in the Underland Chronicles
• Gregor & the Prophecy of Bane: Book Two in the Underland Chronicles
• Gregor & the Curse of the Warmbloods: Book Three in the Underland Chronicles
• Gregor & the Marks of Secret: Book Four in the Underland Chronicles
• Gregor & the Code of Claw: Book Five in the Underland Chronicles
• When Charlie McButton Lost Power
  

This week, we want to introduce you to The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson — a new Middle Grade book set for release in September. All this week, we’ll have fun little tid-bits about the book & the movie adaptation that’s in the works, along with an exclusive interview with authors Adam & Andrew.

But today, we want you to get to know the book a little better. Here is an unofficial synopsis from Adam & Andrew themselves, along with an early cover mock-up:

Running to save his life, Aldwyn, the street-wise orphan alley cat, ducks into a strange store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard-in-training, comes in to pick out his familiar – a magical animal companion. Aldwyn’s always been clever. But magical? Apparently Jack thinks so—and Aldwyn is happy to play along. Anything to get out of town!

Once home with Jack in Stone Runlet, Aldwyn thinks that he’s got it made—a life of ease with a boy who loves him. He just has to convince the other familiars—the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert–that he’s the telekinetic cat he claims to be.

Then, after the sky lights up with an omen, the unthinkable happens. Jack and the other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia. Together Aldwyn, Skylar and Gilbert must save them—but how?

On a thrilling quest across the land, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries old secret, and discover a mysterious destiny that will change them all forever. Their magical adventure–an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-or-you-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor–is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.

Sounds great, right?

For the comments: Tell us your first impressions of The Familiars!

And so begins our week-long celebration of Author Appreciation Week. This initiative was sparked by 2010 debut author Heidi R. Kling (see here for more details) … and I must say, it is ridiculously difficult to choose 5-10 authors to highlight. Honestly, I think ALL of the authors whose books I read are my favorites for one reason or another. Still, I’ve taken up the challenging task of at least trying to narrow them down … I’ll be featuring 1-2 authors every day through Friday.

L.J. Smith is enjoying a legion of new fans these days — thanks in part to how the popularity of the Twilight Saga has drawn new readers to her vampire romance novels, and in part to the success of The CW TV series adaptation of her series The Vampire Diaries.

But Smith doesn’t need other series or TV shows to draw in readers; her writing alone does that. All of her novels are extremely engaging and will quickly suck you into the story and the drama of her characters’ complex relationships. Her books are, simply put, entertaining. They are fun to read. They are dramatic, complex, funny (at times), urgent, and compelling. They are fun to read, and when you’ve finished one of her novels, you want to keep reading, even if there’s nothing more to read. Lucky for us, Smith posts additional stories about her characters on her website … which just makes us love her even more!

Books by L.J. Smith:

• The Vampire Diaries
  • The Awakening
  • The Struggle
  • The Fury
  • Dark Reunion
    
• The Vampire Diaries: The Return
  • Nightfall
  • Shadow Souls
  • Midnight (2011)
• The Secret Circle
  • The Initiation
  • The Captive
  • The Power
    
• Night World
  • Volume I
  • Volume II
  • Volume III
  • Strange Fate
    
• Dark Visions
  • The Strange Power
  • The Possessed
  • The Passion
    
• The Forbidden Game
  • The Hunter
  • The Chase
  • The Kill
    
• The Night of the Solstice
• Heart of Valor

For the Comments: What are some of your favorite L.J. Smith books?

Today’s post is written by The Lonely Hearts Club author Elizabeth Eulberg, as an exclusive guest blog for Novel Novice’s March Book of the Month. Thanks Elizabeth!!!

Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

When I think back on the road to getting The Lonely Hearts Club published, there are many moments that stick out: signing my contract with Scholastic, finishing the manuscript, holding the Advance Reader’s copy in my hand, finding out that Mandalay Pictures wanted to pre-empt the movie rights.  However, there is one memory that really sticks out the most and it’s not nearly as celebratory.

It was a Sunday afternoon in April 2008.  I was working on yet another draft of LHC.  I had notes from my agent on things to fix and I was stuck.  I had worked all week at my job and spent all weekend at my computer, writing.  I was tired and frustrated.  So I got up, went over to my couch and started to cry.  I thought, “I can’t do it anymore.  I’m done.  I’ve done the best I could, but I’m never going to get this manuscript in good enough shape.  I tried to write a book and I just couldn’t do it.”

At that moment I had two choices: give up or get up.  I could’ve shut down my computer, sat on my couch and ordered some food.  That would have been the easy thing to do and it was very, very tempting.  The other, more difficult choice was to get up and write.

For the past four years I had worked on several drafts of the book and there I was, about to pack it all in.  Just like that.  I realized that I was being silly.  I was so close to finishing the draft.  Maybe I didn’t have another draft in me, but I at least had to try.  So I wiped away the tears and gave myself a little pep talk.  All I had left to edit was 50 pages.  I could do 50 pages.  I got up, sat down and attacked the keyboard.  I was too afraid to take a break so I didn’t stop until I reached the last page.

I’m not going to lie and say that when I sent off the manuscript that I knew I had the version that would be sent to publishers.  In fact, I wasn’t even excited when I finished it.  Usually after I finished a draft I would put on “Revolution” by the Beatles and dance around my apartment.  This time I hit send and collapsed on my couch.  Three days later I receive an e-mail from my agent saying that the manuscript was ready to be submitted to publishers.  I really was in the final stretch.  I almost gave up on mile 26 of a marathon (which is 26.2 miles).

While giving up is usually the easiest route, I think about all the experiences I would have never experienced if I had not made the choice to get up.  The Lonely Hearts Club would just be just a folder filled with numerous drafts on my computer.  I wouldn’t be a published author.  I wouldn’t get to talk to readers, mostly teenage girls, who have found some comfort from the book.

I’m sure a lot of people reading this have a dream, something they want to do.  Dreams are sometimes hard to accomplish.  Many of them aren’t even remotely easy.  Most of things worthwhile in life require a lot of hard work.  So all I can really say to those aspiring authors, musicians, actors, teachers, etc. is GET UP.  If you’re feeling lost or tired, GET UP.

Because out of everything I’ve accomplished in my life, the thing I’m most proud of is that fact that I got up.

There’s a recurring theme in some recent Young Adult fiction I’ve noticed: a general lack of parental figures. Sure, there’s usually one or both parents “around” — but in several books I’ve read, the parents are often checked out, away for work, or are just generally not around to keep tabs on their kids.

Some recent popular titles in which this is the case include:

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

It’s an interesting theme to consider for an essay or project topic. Some questions to explore:

* Is this just a coincidence, or is the physical absense of a strong parental figure key to these supernatural stories?

* In each case, the parent’s absense gives the characters a certain sense of freedom to explore the supernatural world they discover. If a stronger parental figure were present throughout the story more, would that keep away the supernatural element?

* What other books feature an absent parental figure, and how does that figure into the story and plot?

If you write an essay or do a project featuring this or a similar topic, send it to sara.novelnovice@comcast.net and it could be featured here on Novel Novice.

For the comments: In what other supernatural books have you noticed a lack of parental figures? What books do include strong parental figures?

Next week, we’ll be featuring some of our favorite Young Adult & Middle Grade authors for Author Appreciation Week.

The idea comes from 2010 debut author Heidi R. Kling (her novel Sea comes out in June, when it will also be our Book of the Month!). Here’s what she had to say:

WHEN: March 15-19

WHAT: Write a blog post each day of next week about the authors you appreciate and why!

RULES: There are none. Be creative. If you want to pick five, pick five. Ten favorites? Go for it! Can’t choose between your top twenty? Well, then you’ll be doing a few a day. And they’ll love you for it!

Avatars & Graphics: Feel free to use the one Sara from Novel Novice (www.novelnovice.com) made (above), there’s a few on Twitter, or make your own. Remember to credit the generous, book-loving artists!

What is an “author”: Ideally, someone that has sold a novel to an established publishing house. I suppose it could be your cat, if she’s purred her way into a contract. For our purposes let’s do authors of YA/MG.

How do we spread the word? Post this post to your blog, link back here. Go on facebook and twitter and use the hashtag #AA (Author Appreciation) and @ the others you have chosen so they can go back and read your words of praise.

You can read a whole bunch more on Heidi’s blog about why she wanted to host this. You can find additional graphics for the week on twitter (search for #AA or #AuthorAppreciation). We’ve also created a few for you to use. You can download them all through our twitpic account, or on our facebook page. (Just link back to us if you use one of our graphics!)

Tune in all next week to hear about some of the authors we appreciate.

For the comments: Who are some of your favorite YA/MG authors?