Photo Friday: Lovestruck Shelves

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A few people have sent me photos of Lovestruck Summer on bookstore shelves, which makes me so happy! Here they are:Book Chic did a Bookstalking post where he took a ton of bookstore shots at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC. bookchicshelfshot.jpg My friend Stefanie found an endcap display at a Barnes and Noble in NYC! lovestruckbn.jpg Deadly Little Secret author Laurie Stolarz also snapped a shelf shot for me in NYC. Thanks, Laurie! lovestrucksummerlaurie.jpg So if you come across the book, I'd love to see it. Take a camera phone shot if you feel self-conscious (that's what I do for author friends). Happy Friday! PS-A few people have emailed me to say they can't find Lovestruck Summer at their local bookstores. If you ask them to order it for you, they will! No charge to you and it spreads the word for me. Thank you!

Cupcakes, Marilyn Monroe and Daniel Johnston

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baby-shower-cupcakes.jpgIt's my birthday; I am going to eat cupcakes all day!If you really want to make me happy for my birthday, save the date and come join me on Tuesday, June 9th at 9pm EST/6pm PST at readergirlz for a virtual launch celebration of Lovestruck Summer! We'll chatter about books, summer love, music, anything we like. And to my fellow Geminis (who are obviously the best, astrologically speaking), Happy Birthdays all around! danieljohnstonhihowareyou.jpg PS-Cupcake Witch put up a really sweet review of Lovestruck Summer and suggested a cover design for the book (which I totally love, and which involves this Daniel Johnston drawing). PPS-Marilyn Monroe would have been 83 this year, and there are some never-before-published photos up at LIFE magazine that are totally luminous. UPDATE: OMG, Thanks, guys! Jefferson Market NYPL rules!

Win-It Wednesday: A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

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First, some winners to announce: Gracie won first place in the soulmates contest Susane Colasanti and I held! And Monica got second place! Send me your addresses, and Susane will send you her prizes. Last week's Win-It Wednesday, for a copy of Robin Benway's Audrey, Wait! goes to... SarahChristine! Send me your address, SC!Thumbnail image for Map of Known World JKT2.jpgNow, on to this week's action! I'm giving away a copy of Lisa Ann Sandell's A Map of the Known World. She was here sharing her Cover Story, which involves metal and art and apples, and you will totally get into this book. So, I have a serious question: What are you guys watching on TV right now? I need some new shows now that my favorites (Real Housewives of NYC, 30 Rock, The Office, Oprah, The Biggest Loser, etc.) are in reruns. What's your suggestion? Leave it below, and you're entered in this contest. Oh, bonus entry if you go visit me at Sara Hantz's blog or Alyson Noel's blog and say hi! Happy Wednesday!

Random Tuesday Stuff

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survey.jpgA favor for my friend Lynn Biederman, co-author of Unraveling (remember her brilliant cover story where she thought the first cover's character's boobs were saggy--ha!): She needs teenagers to answer a fast (3 minutes, multiple choice) survey--it's about sex and sexually related topics in YA lit, and it's for librarians. Totally anonymous!Lynn says, "This is NOT about censorship for library community. It's about getting some perspective from teens on their attitudes about sexual content in YA/teen lit." So take it if you can. I'll give you a bonus entry on the Audrey, Wait! contest if you take it by tomorrow, when that contest ends. Just comment and let me know you took it. In other contest news, Mrs. Magoo is giving away a copy of Lovestruck Summer here. And, the readergirlz pick for June is Sweethearts! If you've read it, come join in the chatter. If you haven't, pick it up! Seriously, what are you waiting for? (I loved this book--Cameron and Jenna have such a fantastic friendship! Sigh.) PS-Serena Robar, author of Giving Up the V (out in July) is giving away a book every day in June! Sometimes more than one. So check out her schedule and enter to win, day after day. (She'll be here to do a Cover Story soon too.)

Cover Stories: Swoon by Nina Malkin

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Thumbnail image for swoon.jpgAfter having my nose in this book all weekend, I am excited to keep talking about it (even though I already sung its praises to everyone at the Teen Author Carnival last week, which was a TOTAL BLAST, btw, and full of the most fun people you could hope to meet). Nina Malkin's here to share the cover story. (Have I mentioned how hot this book is and how you should go get it now? Do!). Oh, and enter Nina's contest to win a signed copy of the book--do it by June 30th! Here's Nina: "'Love at first sight must be glorious...'

"I'm quoting the first line of my novel SWOON, and in answer to narrator Candice 'Dice' Moskow's musing, am here to say, 'Yeah, it is.'

"Like ten years ago, I first laid eyes on the tall, bespectacled, floppy-haired boy in the corridor of a magazine where I worked. In that moment, I flashed: 'Mine!' Turns out he had come interviewing for a job, which he got. Soon thereafter, he got me--as a friend, then as a girlfriend, now as a wife.

"Something similar happened last spring when I received an email subjected 'SWOON cover comp.' I clicked on the JPEG attached and flashed: 'This is $%#^@!ing hot!' A first. SWOON is my fifth book, but the only one with a cover I truly love. Imagine my dismay, for instance, when sent the results of the pricey photo shoot my previous publisher did (without my knowledge, much less input) for my debut novel 6X: The Uncensored Confessions. This is a book about a rock band. Why, then, a cover subject tarted up like a Vegas hooker? Did I squawk? Damn skippy. To no avail. Who was I, fledging author, to tell a big publishing company its business.

"SWOON, different story.

"Considering my previous experience, I sweated the cover of SWOON. Now I was with perhaps the biggest publishing company of all--surely they wouldn't deign to consult me. Plus, with SWOON's fairly complicated premise and plot, a design no-brainer it was not.

imgswoon068.jpg"Fortunately, I had an appreciation for covers Cara Petrus, the creative genius assigned to SWOON, had done for other books. Still, she had her work cut out for her. I, for one, was challenged to conceive an image.

"While I did envision a young woman in 'swoon mode' and a tree, the doodle I doodled fell seriously short. My aforementioned husband had a look and said, 'What's that stuff growing out of the girl's butt?' To which I barked, 'Bark! Don't you know the bark of an ash tree when you see it?'

"The only other concept that occurred involved my hero/antagonist, Sinclair 'Sin' Youngblood Powers.

Sin.jpg

Several months into writing I happened on a magazine advertisement--and couldn't look away. The dude was Sin. Except with manlier hands and 18th century teeth. Still, it just didn't feel right to have a guy--even if we could track down this guy--adorning SWOON.

"Then the fateful email arrived. One download later, I was in love. Sure, I could nitpick. Point out that the subject is a redhead who resembles none of the characters of SWOON. Complain that her pose seems a tad comatose (if not dead) and argue that a person in swoon mode is very, very, very much alive. Me being me, I did--nitpicked, pointed out, complained and argued. Remarkably, they listened, offering to do a photo shoot and forwarding pics of prospective models.

"At which point I slapped on the kibosh--except for a semi-metallic sheen to the title, the final cover of SWOON hasn't changed one iota from Cara's original comp.

"Because my initial reaction was that this image evoked the darkness, mystery, romance and sensuality of SWOON. Because I've learned to trust my instincts. And because I believe in love at first sight."

So do I. And this cover? LOVE. Do you guys agree? Also, Nina's notes on the Sin model crack me up! And her drawing actually DOES have some resemblance to the final cover, at least the head-thrown-back thing, right? I'm impressed.

Photo Friday: Cupcakes and French Magazines

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cupcake.jpgI'm meeting up with a few bloggers and some awesome authors (Elizabeth Scott, Sarah MacLean, maybe more...) for cupcakes today. Could there be anything more magical?Also, the Violet trilogy was featured in French magazine Jeune & Jolie (uh, Young & Pretty), and I'm sort of thrilled to be on the same page with Edward Cullen, James Bond and the ultimate Shopaholic. I really need to learn to read French. Jeune & jolie.jpg Happy Weekend! PS- There's a huge BFF contest going on over at The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading (which is a book that totally intrigues me). Prizes include: an autographed copy of The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading, the new iPod Shuffle, a mix tape (CD) of songs about friendship, DeBrand's Chocolates, Matching T-shirts and a few geeky surprises. If you win, your BFF wins too. I'm entering!

Teen Author Carnival Today!

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Some very Awesome YA fans, those of the aptly named Five Awesome YA Fans ning, have put together quite a carnival of teen authors. So if you're in NYC today (Thursday 5/28) from 4-6pm, stop by the Jefferson Market Branch of the NY Public Library (425 Avenue of the Americas) and party with us! Who's on the guest list? See below. I can't tell you what the categories mean... I haven't found out myself (Though I'm glad to be a Caramel Apple). What I can tell you is this: It's going to be F-U-N. Come! TEAM COTTON CANDY Maureen Johnson Robin Wasserman Melissa Anelli Carolyn MacCullough Brian Sloan Michelle Zink Emma McLaughlin Nicola Wheir Beckie Weinheimer Lauren Barnholdt Robyn Schneider Jennifer Lynn Barnes TEAM CARAMEL APPLE Libba Bray Jenny Han Sarah MacLean Melissa Walker Sasha Watson Pam Bachorz Greg Neri David Ostow Micol Ostow Sarah Cross Tish Cohen Jessica Burkhart

TEAM FUNNEL CAKE

Cassie Clare PG .Kain David Levithan Taylor Morris Linda Gerber Elizabeth Scott Claudia Gray Cinda Chima Michel Northrop Aimee Friedman Susane Colosonti Coe Booth PS-I just started reading Nina Malkin's SWOON, and OMG, swooning. Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a signed copy here.

Win-It Wednesday: Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

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It was so much fun to hear about your favorite female heroines--awesome picks. The winner of Matthue Roth's Candy in Action is... Josh! A guy winner! Send me your address, J.audreywait.jpgRobin Benway's Audrey, Wait! is awesome, as probably everyone knows. It's about a girl named Audrey whose ex-boyfriend writes a song about their breakup, and then his small-town band hits the big time and everyone wants to know the muse behind the hit. Cue Audrey's life being turned upside-down. I have no idea why it took me so long to read this lovely book, and now I'm going to beg Robin to do a Cover Story with me about the original and the new paperback cover, below (how cute is it?!). audreypaperback.pngAnyway, my copy is a paperback ARC with the original cover, to get triple confusing. And yes, it's used, but who can tell? To enter to win it, tell me your favorite song lyric of the moment, in honor of music-loving Audrey. I have to think about mine too... I'll weigh in soon! Happy Wednesday! PS-Don't forget to enter the big Lovestruck Summer and Waiting For You month-long contest hosted by me and Susane Colasanti--just a few days left! PPS-I'm over at Jennifer Banash's showing off a bathrobe. Odd? Okay, yes. But don't hold that against me. Come visit if you have time.