Coming Soon - Autographed Book Giveaway: Vampire Academy's THE LAST SACRIFICE by Richelle Mead

Coming Soon!

Vampire Academy: Autographed Book Giveaway Contest!

Just a reminder - I'll be posting all details for my upcoming giveaway contest by next Friday, December 17th and how you can win (You pretty much know the drill. Must be a follower of my blog...number of tweets gains more entires, etc.).

So check back next Friday for all the dets - and enter to win a signed copy of THE LAST SACRIFICE - the final installment in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. 

And...there may be more than one autographed book being given away...just sayin'. 

Scholastic 10 Trends for YA / Children's Books from 2010

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Scholastic, the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, today released a list of 10 Trends in Children’s Books from 2010. The list was compiled by editors from Scholastic, including children’s literature experts from Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs, divisions of Scholastic that distribute books from all publishers through schools nationwide.

“We’ve seen some exciting innovation in children’s publishing in 2010, including new formats and platforms for storytelling that are helping more and more kids become book lovers,” said Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. “At the same time, we’re seeing a rejuvenation of some classic genres, which I think is evidence of the timeless power that stories and characters have on the lives of children.”

1. The expanding Young Adult (YA) audience: More and more adults are reading YA books, as the audience for these stories expands.
2. The year of dystopian fiction:  With best-selling series like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, readers can’t seem to get enough of fiction that suggests the future may be worse than the present.
3. Mythology-based fantasy: Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series set the trend – and now series like The Kane Chronicles, Lost Heroes of Olympus andGoddess Girls are capitalizing.
4. Multimedia series: The 39 Clues, Skeleton Creek and The Search for WondLaare hooking readers with stories that go beyond the printed page and meet kids where they are online or via video.
5. A focus on popular characters – from all media: Kids love to read books about characters they know and recognize from books, movies and television shows. Titles centered around those popular characters (like Fancy Nancy, David Shannon’s “David,” or Toy Story characters) are top sellers.
6. The shift in picture books: Publishers are publishing about 25 to 30 percent fewer picture book titles than they used to as some parents want their kids to read more challenging books at younger ages. The new trend is leading to popular picture book characters such as Pinkalicious, Splat Cat and Brown Bear, Brown Bear showing up in Beginning Reader books.
7. The return to humor: Given the effects of the recession on families, it is nice to see a rise in the humor category, fueled by the success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Ook & Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, and popular media characters like SpongeBob, and Phineas & Ferb.
8. The rise of the diary and journal format: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the most well-know example of this trend, but the success of Wimpy Kid is leading to popular titles such as Dear Dumb Diary, Dork Diaries, The Popularity Papers, and Big Nate.
9. Special-needs protagonists: There is a growing body of literary fiction with main characters who have special needs, particularly Aspergers Syndrome and Autism. Examples: My Brother Charlie, Marcelo in the Real World,Mockingbird, and Rules.
10. Paranormal romance beyond vampires: The success of titles like Linger, Beautiful Creatures, Immortal, and Prophesy of the Sisters shows this genre is still uber-popular and continues to expand.

For more information about Scholastic, visit their Media Room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.  

My NaNoWriMo Challenge...And A Torn Calf Muscle, To Boot!

I have a walking cast and crutches, I'd like to personally thank - but more on that, below.

2010 brought with it, my first attempt at the NaNoWriMo challenge. For those of you who don't know what that incredibly long acronym stands for - it's the National Novel Writing Month competition - where writers from around the world, are challenged to write 50,000 words, during the thirty days of November.

That's right - a 50,000 word novel, in just 30 days.

Impossible?

That's what I first thought, when I set out to take this challenge head on. It didn't help, that I entered into the contest, having just spent almost 9 weeks with the most amazing bout of writer's block, I'd ever experienced in the four plus years I've been writing.

And so I sat for the first few days, staring at a blank page on my computer screen. Waiting. Hoping. And downright pleading that some form of inspiration would strike.

But it didn't.

For the entire first week of the month, I sat there and was unable to type more than a few words here and there. I wasn't able to blog, tweet, or really even draft up a legible email. And to make matters worse, I'd severely torn my calf muscle at one of my CrossFit workouts that same week - and was house bound with one of the most beautiful walking boots, that would make even Christian Louboutin jealous...and let's not forget, the lovely matching crutches (should I mention they were kids crutches? Yeah, evidently the adult ones, were too tall for me).

Seriously - nothing like striking a women, while she's already down.

Sleeping with my foot propped up on a bunch of pillows - it suddenly hit me. Okay, maybe being blindsided in my sleep, at 2:45am one Tuesday morning, is a better way to put it.

I immediately jumped out of bed - practically launching the cat who'd fallen asleep on my foot, across the room - and hobbled as fast as I could, to my computer. And I started writing. And writing...and I wrote, until I heard my alarm go off for me to get ready for work that day (which completely sucked, by the way).

But who was I to complain? I was finally writing again - and chalked up over 5,000 words that night alone.

And two and half weeks later, I crossed the finish line, with 52,770 words - almost 3k more than the goal, and two days ahead of the deadline.

And the best part is? I'm still going! In fact, I think I'll be finished with my entire first draft, in the next week or so - which just blows me away. Especially considering where I was, just three weeks ago.

So in the end, I owe a big thanks to my lovely walking boot and crutches.

Because of them, I was forced to sit down and put fingers to keyboard.

And because of them I have an almost completed WIP.

Thanks, NaNoWriMo for the awesome challenge! I look forward to next November, when we meet again.

Here's hoping I won't need to severely injure myself, to kick my muse into gear.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

My snowy street at 7am this morning!

Snow Day!!!

Remember what that was like as a kid? Ah, man...it still doesn't get any better than that!

Well, folks - Seattle was hit yesterday by one monster of a storm! I left work early to try and beat the "second" wave, along with the dubious amounts of traffic that was sure to come with it - and made it home just in time! (And by dubious, I mean the same thing happened two years ago, and it took us 7 hours to get home...a commute that should've only taken 45 minutes at most). All roads were a complete disaster, as seen in the below photo of a jack-knifed semi on I-5 last night.

Crazy jack-knifed semi on the freeway...closing down I-5!

And since I live out towards the Cascade Mountains - we always get a bit more snow than those in the city...and overnight, we racked up an impressive 8" of the fluffy white stuff!

Not to mention, it was fa-reezing yesterday / last night! By 6:30pm, it had already dropped to 18 degrees (F) - but with the high winds (gusts up to 60mph), the wind chill brought the temperatures down below 0. Yes, that's correct - I didn't type that wrong...and no, you didn't see it wrong, either! Below 0, peeps.

Um, can you say brrrrrrrr without your teeth chattering?

My deck - hidden under the 8" of snow!

Anyhow - I do have the fine luxury of being able to work from home if needed...so I didn't brave the streets and go in to the office today. Plus, with it being Thanksgiving week and all - it's amazingly quiet...so I'm taking advantage of that and starting the Holidays a bit early!


The great news? I'm tackling the last 14,000 words I have to finish up NaNoWriMo and I hope to have that done soon! 

 So I leave you to go write...as I hum "Let It Snow, Let It Snow...Let It Snow!" 

 Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 11.14.2010

According to USA TODAY, the following is a list of the top 150 best selling books, based on sales through Sunday, 11/14/2010.  For reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - or to check out more information on the top 150 books - visit their website.
 
Note of the week: 27% of the top 150 best selling books this week, fall under the Children's / YA genre (highlighted in orange) - up 5% over last week. Stealing the show this week: Jeff Kinney and his Wimpy Kid series - coveting the #1 position - and taking home 5 slots in the top 50! 

Notable mention that I can't wait to read - and *gasp*, it's actually not Young Adult: #132 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. I saw this book at Target months ago, read the synopsis, and knew I wanted to read it - but for some seriously strange reason, I didn't buy it. A few weeks later, I couldn't even remember what the title was (not good). Then just in August, I was at Borders with an arm full of books to buy - and the top one fell on the floor...as I leaned down to pick it up - there it was THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS.  

And yes, I did buy it - just haven't had a chance to read it yet. But I'll post a review, as soon as I do! 

Legend:
Position This Week, Last Week, Title, Author (Publisher), Price


1 0 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $13.95
2 0 Decision Points, George W. Bush (Crown), $35.00
3 1 Happy Ever After, Nora Roberts (Berkely), $16.00
4 2 The Confession, John Grisham (Doubleday), $28.95
5 0 Hell’s Corner, David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing), $27.99
6 0 Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King (Scribner), $27.95
7 5 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $7.99
8 4 Broke, Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe (Threshold Editions), $29.99
9 7 The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $18.99
10 8 The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $7.99
11 11 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson (Knopf), $27.95
12 10 The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown (Anchor), $9.99
13 9 Life, Keith Richards (Little, Brown), $29.99
14 3 The Wheel of Time: Towers of Midnight, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books), $29.99
15 6 Indulgence in Death, J.D. Robb (Putnam Adult), $26.95
16 19 The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press), $8.99
17 12 Southern Lights: A Novel, Danielle Steel (Dell), $7.99
18 15 American Assassin: A Thriller, Vince Flynn (Atria), $27.99
19 0 I Still Dream About You, Fannie Flagg (Random House), $26.00
20 16 Christmas in Cedar Cove: 5-B Poppy Lane, Debbie Macomber (MIRA), $7.99
21 14 Worth Dying For: A Reacher Novel, Lee Child (Delacorte Press), $28.00
22 0 I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections, Nora Ephron (Knopf), $22.95
23 13 Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, Portia de Rossi (Atria), $25.99
24 20 Safe Haven, Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing), $25.99
25 17 Deeper Than the Dead, Tami Hoag (Signet), $9.99
26 0 House Rules, Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press), $16.00
27 23 Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $17.99
28 29 Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press), $17.99
29 21 Holiday Magic, Mary Carter, Terri DuLong, Fern Michaels, Cathy Lamb (Zebra), $7.99
30 27 Fall of Giants, Ken Follett (Dutton), $36.00
31 18 The Christmas Brides, Linda Lael Miller (HQN), $7.99
32 25 Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?, Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter), $35.00
33 28 I, Alex Cross, James Patterson (Vision), $9.99
34 32 The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Putnam Adult), $24.95
35 88 Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney (Amulet), $12.95
36 30 61 Hours: A Reacher Novel, Lee Child (Dell), $9.99
37 57 Pinheads and Patriots, Bill O’Reilly (William Morrow), $27.99
38 46 Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story, Justin Bieber (HarperCollins), $21.99
39 40 Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (Vintage), $15.95
40 42 Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, David Sedaris (Little, Brown), $21.99
41 90 The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, Carol V. Aebersold, Chanda B. Bell (CCA & B), $29.95
42 37 Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin), $15.00
43 69 Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown), $29.99
44 53 Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, Mark Twain (University of California Press), $34.95
45 61 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Ntozake Shange (Scribner), $9.95
46 39 Little Bee: A Novel, Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster), $14.00
47 105 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Jeff Kinney (Amulet), $12.95
48 108 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney (Amulet), $12.95
49 118 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $13.95
50 34 In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel, Jan Karon (Viking Adult), $27.95
51 33 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book), Jon Stewart (Grand Central), $27.99
52 107 Guinness World Records 2011, Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records), $28.95
53 22 Moonlight Mile, Dennis Lehane (William Morrow), $26.99
54 31 The Reckless Bride, Stephanie Laurens (Avon), $7.99
55 35 The Wrecker, Clive Cussler, Justin Scott (Berkley), $9.99
56 36 Me, Ricky Martin (Celebra), $26.95
57 38 Cold Dawn, Carla Neggers (MIRA), $7.99
58 64 The Kane Chronicles, Book 1: The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan (Hyperion), $17.99
59 49 The Christmas Sweater, Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe, Jason Wright (Pocket Star), $7.99
60 43 Don’t Blink, James Patterson, Howard Roughan (Little, Brown), $27.99
61 0 High-Caliber Christmas, B.J. Daniels (Harlequin Intrigue), $4.99
62 55 Room, Emma Donoghue (Little, Brown), $11.99
63 60 Somewhere Along the Way, Jodi Thomas (Berkely), $7.99
64 81 Call Me Mrs. Miracle, Debbie Macomber (MIRA), $16.95
65 24 They Call Me Baba Booey, Gary Dell’Abate, Chad Millman (Spiegel & Grau), $25.00
66 62 Ford County: Stories, John Grisham (Dell), $7.99
67 96 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPré (Arthur A. Levine), $14.99
68 51 A Christmas Promise, Mary Balogh (Dell), $7.99
69 47 Play Dead, Harlan Coben (Signet), $9.99
70 50 Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook, Rachael Ray (Clarkson Potter), $24.99
71 79 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
72 65 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $14.99
73 98 Big Nate Strikes Again, Lincoln Peirce (HarperCollins), $12.99
74 70 The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel, Garth Stein (Harper Paperback), $14.99
75 148 Llama Llama Holiday Drama, Anna Dewdney (Viking Children's), $16.99
76 48 The Gate House, Nelson DeMille (Vision), $9.99
77 0 The Distant Hours, Kate Morton (Atria), $26.00
78 52 Freedom: A Novel, Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), $28.00
79 59 Someone Like You, Susan Mallery (HQN), $7.99
80 41 The Reversal, Michael Connelly (Little, Brown), $12.99
81 335 Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary (HarperCollins), $5.99
82 67 Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, Jeannette Walls (Scribner), $15.00
83 85 Goodnight Moon Board Book, Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd (HarperCollins), $6.95
84 66 Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton (Harper), $9.99
85 82 Rough Country, John Sandford (Berkley), $9.99
86 131 An Irish Country Christmas, Patrick Taylor (Tor Books), $7.99
87 91 StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath (Gallup Press), $22.95
88 45 Misguided Angel, Melissa de la Cruz (Disney-Hyperion), $16.99
89 75 Sarah’s Key, Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin's Griffin), $13.95
90 206 The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $14.95
91 78 The First Love Cookie Club, Lori Wilde (Avon), $7.99
92 89 Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern (It Books), $15.99
93 80 Torment, Lauren Kate (Delacorte Books for Young Readers), $17.99
94 83 What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel (Workman Publishing Group), $14.95
95 56 The Last Boy, Jane Leavy (Harper), $27.99
96 97 Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin (Penguin), $15.00
97 104 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2: The Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
98 76 A**holes Finish First, Tucker Max (Gallery), $25.99
99 68 At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson (Doubleday), $28.95
100 0 Edge, Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster), $12.99
101 116 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5: The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $17.99
102 132 Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love, Larry Levin (Grand Central Publishing), $19.99
103 122 Love You Forever, Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw (Firefly), $4.95
104 0 Wedding His Takeover Target, Emilie Rose (Silhouette Desire), $4.75
105 134 Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz (Scribner), $16.00
106 112 To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Grand Central Publishing), $6.99
107 106 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford (Ballantine Books), $15.00
108 114 The Shack, William P. Young (Windblown Media), $14.99
109 26 In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks..., Adam Carolla (Crown Archetype), $25.00
110 0 Valley Forge, Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen (Thomas Dunne Books), $27.99
111 151 Promise Me, Richard Paul Evans (Simon & Schuster), $19.99
112 120 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
113 93 Daughter of Darkness, V.C. Andrews (Pocket Star), $7.99
114 58 Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher (Roc), $25.95
115 77 Trickle Up Poverty, Michael Savage (William Morrow), $26.99
116 73 Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie (Bantam), $7.99
117 92 Naked Heat, Richard Castle (Hyperion), $23.99
118 126 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3: The Titan’s Curse, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
119 87 Witch & Wizard, James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), $9.99
120 99 The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson (Bloomsbury), $15.00
121 128 The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow (Bantam), $28.00
122 84 Ecstasy in Darkness, Gena Showalter (Pocket Star), $7.99
123 115 The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Moody Publishers), $14.99
124 63 Wolfsbane, Patricia Briggs (Ace), $7.99
125 0 To Tame a Sheikh, Olivia Gates (Silhouette Desire), $4.75
126 110 Crescendo, Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing), $18.99
127 152 Saving Max, Antoinette van Heugten (MIRA), $14.95
128 184 Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss (Random House), $7.99
129 162 A Wallflower Christmas, Lisa Kleypas (St. Martin's Paperbacks), $6.99
130 180 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPré (Scholastic), $6.99
131 74 Prince Charming Doesn’t Live Here, Christine Warren (St. Martin's Paperbacks), $7.99
132 234 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (Crown), $26.00
133 121 Griftopia, Matt Taibbi (Spiegel & Grau), $26.00
134 127 A Duke’s Temptation, Jillian Hunter (Signet), $7.99
135 137 The Glass Castle: A Memoir, Jeannette Walls (Scribner), $14.00
136 103 Midnight Kiss, Jean Brashear, Robyn Carr, Victoria Dahl (Harlequin Special Releases), $7.99
137 198 Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl, Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin), $12.99
138 140 Crazy Love, Francis Chan (David C. Cook), $14.99
139 94 Chasing the Night, Iris Johansen (St. Martin's Press), $27.99
140 170 Not My Daughter, Barbara Delinsky (Anchor), $7.99
141 130 The Vampire Diaries: Stefan’s Diaries #1: Origins, L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec (HarperTeen), $9.99
142 169 Santa in Montana, Janet Dailey (Zebra), $7.99
143 135 Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family, Condoleezza Rice (Crown), $27.00
144 165 The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, The College Board (The College Board), $21.99
145 172 Fallen, Lauren Kate (Delacorte Books for Young Readers), $9.99
146 149 Impetuous Innocent, Stephanie Laurens (HQN), $7.99
147 187 Magic Tree House #1: Dinosaurs Before Dark, Mary Pope Osborne, art by Sal Murdocca (Random House Books for Young
Readers), $3.99
148 113 The Twelfth Imam, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House), $26.99
149 72 Double Delicious: Good, Simple Food for Busy, Complicated Lives, Jessica Seinfeld (William Morrow), $28.99
150 183 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book, Eric Carle (Philomel), $9.99

Today's Amazing GroupOn Deal: 11.19.2010

Hi everyone -

I know, another non-writing - but awesome - shopping post! 

Today's GroupOn for all you shop-o-holics - or those looking for a great way to save for the Holiday's - is an a-mazing deal - this time at Nordstrom Rack!! 

Yup - for the first time, Nordstrom is offering up $25 for $50 worth of apparel, shoes, and more at Nordstrom Rack!

There is some fine print - limit only one per customer, offer expires on 12.31.2010 (but only the $25 upgrade expires, the $25 you spend to buy it, does not), etc. 

For all details, here's the GroupOn Link - FYI, the site may be having some issues, due to high traffic - but keep trying!

Now shop away!!!