JUST FRIENDS is out today!

Dude, so it's true. I'm writing YA novels again. I have one out today, in fact. You may have seen it around on Facebook, twitter, or instagram. I'm not sure if people still come to blogs or not, but I figured I better put it here too.

JUST FRIENDS is a novel I poured my heart and soul into a few years ago. It made the rounds in New York, but ultimately, it went on the hard drive. Until this past summer, when I decided to resurrect it.

Kindle Scout passed on it, and I thought, "I know how to self-publish. And I know how to hire great editors." So I did the second, and now I'm doing the first.

I hope you'll go get a copy! JUST FRIENDS is told entirely from a male POV, something I've never done before. (Yes, I know ABANDON was told from two male POVs. Two. This is the first time I've attempted to have one boy carry the whole story. I think it turned out pretty well!)

About JUST FRIENDS: High school senior, Mitch Houser, is thrilled to have multiple colleges recruiting him because of his record-breaking times on the track, but Mitch hasn’t told anyone the real reason he’s been setting records.

He’s trying to outrun his girl problems.

Mitch can't keep running from his problems, and he'll have to face both Jade and Holly—and decide which one of them to put into the “just friends” category.

Go get your copy now!

New YA Contemporary Romance Coming Soon!

Okay, so I know I haven't been around much, especially here on this blog. I had so much going on over the summer, from hitting the USA Today bestseller list and trying to keep up with my insane pen name publication schedule.

But somehow, during everything, I managed to get a couple of YA contemporary romances written and edited and ready for publication!

The first is called JUST FRIENDS and it's coming out on December 12. The second TO BE YOURS, will be out on January 16. I'm getting the cover finalized with my designer right now, but it should be up for sale soon!

About JUST FRIENDS: High school senior, Mitch Houser, is thrilled to have multiple colleges recruiting him because of his record-breaking times on the track, but Mitch hasn’t told anyone the real reason he’s been setting records.

He’s trying to outrun his girl problems.

It’s bad when his friend starts dating his younger, freshman sister. It gets worse when his best friend from childhood, Holly Isaacson, pulls away from Mitch. They used to switch phones during AP History and type each other random notes throughout the day, but lately, Mitch has been keeping his phone safely in his own pocket.

Lance, Mitch’s only competition on the track and good friend, tells Mitch over and over that Holly isn’t ten years old anymore, that she’s worth taking a second look at. Mitch rolls his eyes and tells his friend to shut up, the way he has for years.

And worst of all is the idea of Holly becoming buddy-buddy with Jade Montgomery, who is Mitch’s latest crush. He wants to move Jade from a girl he invites to eat dinner with his family to a girl he takes out to dinner—and maybe kisses afterward. Mitch, who isn’t a great conversationalist, struggles to find the right way to ask Jade out and explain his “just friends” status with Holly.

So Mitch runs, and he runs fast. Things progress with Jade at the same rate they fall apart with Holly. Mitch is under pressure from his parents to fill out his college applications. He’s unsure what to do about Holly. He argues constantly with his sister about her boyfriend. And Lance’s voice about Holly refuses to be silenced.

Most days, Mitch can’t change into his running clothes fast enough. But running from his problems isn’t a good solution, and Mitch has to face both Jade and Holly—and decide which one of them to put into the “just friends” category.

I hope you'll get a copy today! Available in Kindle Unlimited or for $2.99.

Shattered Worlds Feature: Author Elizabetta Holcomb!

Shattered Worlds Feature: THE GUARDIAN by Elizabetta Holcomb!

This is a fantastic YA time travel/fantasy romance that's exclusive to the Shattered Worlds Boxed Set!

About The Guardian: Jareth Tremaine, the first Duke of Dover, has seen how he’s remembered in history books. Having the gift of time travel, he knows what the future holds, including who will gain the coveted title of his duchess. But, when he finally meets her face to face, he wonders what fate was thinking…

Elizabet Blackwell isn’t surprised by wormholes. What shocks her is the whole new world that is veiled from reality. When Jareth uncovers the real reason for their acquaintance, she is skeptical of what a medieval knight would want in a modern girl. Somehow, her idea of a happily ever after did not include governing a league of super heroes and warriors who use time as a game of hide and seek.

"This is one of those books you just love. Nothing beats a book that has a good story line, characters that you love, and a need to continue until the series is complete. I am hooked on the Duke and Duchess of Dover." ~Amazon Reader Review

Be sure to check out THE GUARDIAN, available for only 99cents along with 22 other amazing science fiction, paranormal, fantasy, and dystopian stories in the Shattered Worlds Boxed Set! The set comes out on August 8, but you can pre-order it now and get some exclusive bonuses!

Pre-order SHATTERED WORLDS on:

iBooks

Nook

Amazon

Kobo

Google Play

Don't forget!

Join our pre-release Facebook party this summer, where there are TONS of chances to win swag and books for readers as many different authors will be hosting alllll summer long. We'd love to see you over there!

And there's a HUGE giveaway for author services like editing and promo packages too. Check that out here. Something for everyone!

Help us spread the word about the boxed set! Go here for details--this one's easy and has a gift card AND a Kindle!

Oh! And I bet you're wondering about those bonus books for pre-ordering. You'll get access to 17 bonus novels by the Shattered Worlds authors simply by 1. Pre-ordering the Shattered Worlds boxed set, and 2. Emailing a screenshot of your proof of purchase or forwarding your purchase receipt to shatteredboxedset@gmail.com. A link will be sent back to you with the links for you to download your free bonus books. That's it!!

Spend a dollar. Get 40 books. Life doesn't get much better than that!

About Elizabetta Holcomb: Elizabetta Holcomb is a YA Urban Fantasy/Time Travel author who lives in South Louisiana with her children and cats. When she isn't working nights as a nurse, she is in her writing room creating more adventures surrounding Dover Castle. The best part of her adventure in becoming a published author is connecting with readers and sharing the amazing world that all starts with a medieval duke and a small town modern girl. Welcome to the Age of Dover's Amalgam!

Find Elizabetta on her website, Facebook, twitter, and instagram.

Book Spotlight: Snow Like Ashes

Okay, so I'm a spurter. That's right. I'm either in a writing spurt or a reading spurt. And for the past couple of weeks, I've been laying down thousands of words as I prepare for my edits on RIFT to come. See, I have a production schedule, and I wanted to get a few things drafted before I had to put them on hold when the edits came.

But then I get a little burnt out, and I need a break. That's typically when I go on a reading spurt. And that's what I've been doing these past few days.

One of the books I read was one I've had on my Kindle for a while, but well, when I'm in a writing spurt, there's no reading going on.

I read SNOW LIKE ASHES by Sara Raasch. Here's a bit about it.

SNOW LIKE ASHES: Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now the Winterians' only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter's magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter's defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter's future king she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter's magic, Meira decides to go after it herself only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

You should pick up a copy of this fantastic YA fantasy now, because it's only $1.99! The second book, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out tomorrow, and I've already got my copy pre-ordered. If you like YA fantasy like The Girl of Fire and Thorns or Defy, you'll like this.

Snow Like Ashes has great tension on the page, with a compelling plot and a smart heroine. I really enjoyed it!

What kind of spurt are you in right now? Read anything awesome lately?

The Future is NOW!

Okay, so I am participating with dozens of other Young Adult Science Fiction authors in a newsletter campaign that starts tomorrow!

We are banding together to talk to fans of YA sci-fi, and we're doing it through our newsletters. Most of us -- me included! -- will be offering our YA sci-fi novels for FREE or a REDUCED PRICE tomorrow, Friday, March 13!

Not only can you get some amazing YA sci-fi novels for very little money, but we're giving away 2 Kindles and a load of cash in gift cards.

The ONLY way you can get access to the free and reduced price books and enter our giveaways is through one of our newsletters. You can sign up for mine here.

I don't send a newsletter very often. Once a quarter, or a little more often if I have news. Never more than once a month.

So sign up today, because this HUGE celebration of YA science fiction is happening tomorrow!!

Oh, and you can join us in our public Facebook group to talk about YA sci-fi and stay connected with your favorite YA sci-fi authors!

Pre-Order SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE!

Okay, so I am self-publishing another novel! The official release date is September 15, and you can pre-order the book now!

Cover by Erin Summeril Photography

This is my second novel-in-verse, and I loved writing this one as much as my first (Elevated). It's called SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE, and here's what it's about: High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.

Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.

As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.

In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart.

I started writing this book way last year, when my husband started taking pictures professionally. I'd help him on his shoots, and listen to the language he used when he edited pictures, and watch a lot of YouTube videos with him on apertures, and light settings, and types of cameras, and exposures.

It was a fascinating thing. While I'm not into that line of creative work, I decided to take some of his life and put it into some of mine: a novel. I finished SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE last winter, and I had my husband read it for me to make sure all the photography stuff was accurate.

So yeah. You can pre-order SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE here and get it delivered to your device on Monday, September 15. 

Help spread the word! Enter to win $15 Paypal cash by doing any or all of the items in the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


If you're a writer, have you ever taken part of someone else's life and put it in a book?

Announcing: My New Fantasy Series!

Okay, so for the past few months, I have been preparing to release a new fantasy series. It's a futuristic, elemental fantasy series, and it's a little bit unconventional.

See, there's only one novel. I know you're going, "Elana, one novel does not a series make." And you would be right. My Elemental series has three titles, but two of them are longish novellas.

Download free here:
iTunes | Amazon (99 cents)
B&N (coming soon!)
Kobo | Smashwords

Also find on:
Wattpad | Goodreads

The first novella is titled ELEMENTAL RUSH, and it is free everywhere, except Amazon. It's still 99 cents there until I can get Amazon to price match it to be free. 

About the novella: Eighteen-year-old Adam Gillman has trained for twelve years to earn a coveted spot on the Supreme Elemental’s elite sentry squad. His brother, Felix, is the commander, but Adam is still thrilled when his official assignment to serve Alexander Pederson comes.

He moves into nicer quarters and can stop getting up at four a.m. to complete his mandated work out time. He still rises early though, because he needs the solitude of early morning to practice his airmaking Element—something that Adam has kept secret from everyone, even Felix, because he can’t be both an Airmaker and a sentry.

When Alex assigns him to kill a group of rogue Elementals, he balks at completing his mission for the first time. See, his only friend is Isaiah Hawking, and he’s the Earthmover on the accused Council. When faced with the prospect of killing him, Adam finds he can’t do it.

He’s well trained in assassination, but he thought he’d be murdering bad guys—not innocents.

When Alex buries the Elemental Academy—and kills over one thousand Elementals—in a fit of rage, Adam’s loyalty cracks. When he discovers that Alex is really a woman, and his brother’s lover, he defects. He hops from city to city, from Elemental school to Elemental school, always escaping only minutes before Felix can embed a knife in his heart or a tsunami can make a classroom his watery grave.

He tries to fight back, but he’s just one Airmaster with exceptional tracking skills. He does his best to warn those in danger, but as the last Elemental school goes up in flames, he knows he needs to get some real firepower on his side.

ELEMENTAL RUSH is a prequel novella to the full-length futuristic fantasy novel, ELEMENTAL HUNGER, which is coming on June 12, 2014.

This technically makes the series new adult, but the novel is narrated by a different character--and she's only 16. So I'm calling it a young adult/new adult crossover fantasy series.

Buy here:
iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords | B&N | Amazon

Also find on Goodreads

Here's what Elemental Hunger is about: The second installment in the Elemental series, a new futuristic fantasy for young adults and new adults, ELEMENTAL HUNGER is a full-length novel.

Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. When Gabby is commanded to Manifest her Element, everyone knows what she is: a genetic abnormality. Not to mention guilty.

So she does two logical things to survive.
1. She runs.
2. She hacks off her hair to assume a new role—that of “Gabe”, because in her world, only boys are Firemakers.

Not only does she have to act like a guy, she has to pretend to know everything a Firemaker should know. When Gabby meets Airmaster Adam Gillman, he believes her act and pledges to serve on “Gabe’s” Council. But Adam has the mark of a sentry and spent years obeying Alex, the Supreme Elemental. And Alex wants Gabby-the-genetic-freak dead and gone before she can gather the magical protection of a full Council.

With Adam’s lies that sound like truths and rumors that Alex isn’t really a Firemaker—or a man—Gabby sets out to charter a Council of her own. In order to uncover the truth, Gabby will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power, and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t, she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six feet under.

Look for the third and final installment, ELEMENTAL RELEASE, an Elemental novella, coming on July 2, 2014.

I don't have a cover for the third installment--another novella which will also be free--but the entire series will be out by July 2. (It is here on Goodreads.) And I'm so excited to share it with you! So I hope you'll add these books to your Goodreads list, or order them, or download the first free novella, or pin the covers, or whatever you'd like!

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

Okay, so I think I might be the last person on the planet to read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Part of that is my rebellious nature. I automatically buck against anything that "everyone seems to like" or that "everyone is doing."

Might be lame. I don't know.

The other part of this equation is that I often don't like books that everyone else does. Then I have to wonder why everyone likes this book that I really don't. Is it them? Is it me?

So I held off on reading THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. I just couldn't do it when everyone else did, mostly out of fear that once again, I'd be disappointed and left pondering why I couldn't like a book that seemingly everyone else on the planet does.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. I read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, and I really liked it!

About THE FAULT IN OUR STARS: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

I think the thing I liked best was that while this is a tragedy, the main characters don't give up. It's a story that encompasses life--because those of us plodding along on this orb aren't giving up. We keep putting one foot (and in the case of Augustus, he only has one, which I thought was brilliant) in front of the other, and hoping.

I've read lots of reviews and such of this book, claiming I'd cry. Well, I didn't, but that just might be because I'm heartless (ha!). But I really did enjoy the journey Hazel and Augustus embark on together, and it reminded me that every day I live should be filled with hope no matter what circumstances I'm facing.

Check out what the other Bookanistas are raving about:
Katy Upperman ponders LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo
Kimberly Sabatini wonders at WHEN YOU WERE HERE by Daisy Whitney
Tracy Banghart loves LACRIMOSA by Christine Fonseca
Corrine Jackson adores the ARCADIA BELL series by Jenn Bennett
Rebecca Behrens delves into CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein
Lenore Appelhans raves about THE RULES by Stacey Kade
Stasia Ward Kehoe wraps up National Poetry Month with THE POETRY TEACHER’S BOOK OF LISTS by Sylvia Vardell
Christine Fonseca celebrates UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi
Jessica Love hails THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE by Jennifer E. Smith
Shannon Messenger discusses some recent reads

Blog Chain - I Love Me Some Books

Okay, Kate started this chain with this: This time...I'd like to focus on the flip side of the writing coin - reading. Specifically, what books have influenced you? This can be books that influenced you as a writer, or simply books that touched you as a human being. If you want to talk about one book, a top three, ten, or even twenty go right ahead.

Annie posted before me and Terri is up next. Everyone's been going all crazy about how they could go on and on about this topic.

Um, me? Not so much. See, I don't read to learn something new. About life, about the chemical reactions of copper and peroxide, about myself, about anything. To me, that's not what reading is for. I can Google if I want to learn something new. Or ask someone who already knows. Or just by trial and error. But reading? Pshaw. That takes the whole point of reading away. Because reading should be...well, keep reading. *winks*

I'm what you'd call a shallow reader. I read for fun. The end.

So books that have touched me? *scratches head*

Influenced me as a writer? *panic face*

Don't get me wrong, I love me some books. I've always loved books, but not in the way that they can teach me a lesson and/or influence my life. More like in the way that I can escape to a new place, experience something cool or get caught up in a romance that leaves me breathless. Reading, for me, has never been about the writing. It's been about the stories, the people, the places.

Only recently (translation: when I tried writing myself) did the books I read have any other purpose other than to entertain me. So if you're looking for something deep here, um, maybe you better go back to Archy's post. Or Christine's. Or Annie's. Or pretty much anyone else in this chain.

My list of books I love randomly changes based on what I've recently read that I love. Ha! Go figure. I've blogged about some of these before, but here's my best shot. You should note that these books are on my list for their entertainment value. Now, before you go all ballistic on me, that doesn't mean they're not written well. I just didn't happen to be paying attention to that at the time.

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
3. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Heck, anything this man writes is pure entertainment for me. (And good writing.)
4. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
5. Percy Jackson and The Olympians by Rick Riordan
6. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
7. Maximum Ride by James Patterson
8. Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
9. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

These books I love because of the way the author wove words together. Some of them I didn't actually finish, because I wasn't entertained enough to do so. But the writing? Brilliant. I have pages folded down, images I've scrawled on post-its and happy faces in the margins of especially poignant sentences. This all came about after I decided to be a writer. I do think these books have helped me become a better writer, simply by helping me define what kind of writer I want to be.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
3. Anything by Nancy Farmer or Cornelia Funke
4. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
5. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
6. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Notice there are no classics in either list. Um, that's not fun reading. At least not for me. Heck, I was on the Academic Olympiad in high school *insert geek song of your choice*. We even had these totally schweet T-shirts and everything. I don't think any of my former geekalicious Olympiad's read this blog so I can say this out loud: I didn't read the books we were supposed to for the competition. Why? Cuz A Tale of Two Cities and Huckleberry Finn are NOT entertaining reading! That is not my idea of a fun time.

But reading about magic and moving staircases and hoverboards? Oh, yeah. Djinn and faeries and alternate realms? Bring it on. The first kiss and riding in the Sun God's chariot and jumping out the window of a fifty-story building and unfurling your wings? Yes, yes, YES!

There are also only young adult and middle grade books on my list. That's what I like to read (and write), because it's fun.

So I read for entertainment. Funnily enough, that's also why I write.

Can you answer Kate's question? What books have influenced you? And maybe just because they were a good yarn that kept you turning pages way past your bedtime.

What's With the Letter A?

So, onward and upward to female main character names. I read somewhere, and I can't remember where, that agents were sick of seeing female protags with a name that started with A. Yeah, in the one book I had written at the time, my MC was named Annie.

Le sigh.

I actually don't mind this. But since my post on male names with the letter K, I've been paying more attention to names in everything I read. Queries, synop's, books, manuscripts, whatev. I read a lot of stuff. And you know what? I've noticed a lot of Seth's. As the bad boy. One of my friends (Christine Fonseca) has a Seth in her WiP. I think she told me his name means something about darkness or choas or something. I'm sure she'll set me straight, and I'm too lazy to research it myself. I shudder just typing that R-word. *shudder*

But I haven't noticed that many A-names for girls. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books, I don't know. One of my pals, Jessica Verday, author of The Hollow (which I get to read soon! Woot!) has named her MC Abbey. So there's an A. Oh, and Jenn, a real-life gal in my crit group just wrote a synop about a girl named Ava. There's two.

For me? I seem to choose pretty popular names. I wrote a book last winter with a Claire. That seemed to be a pretty popular name at the time. Lots of authors had Claire's. Sidenote: I need an eclair to get me through this week.

And of course, I have Vi, my Rule-breaking Good girl in Control Issues. And Gabby, my heroine-who-sometimes-pretends-to-be-the-hero.

Who have you got? There's major chartage in my future.

Book Reportage

I'm happy to report that I've read real, published books since last we talked! I also made the realization that I do quite a bit of beta reading and critique group reading and that those reading activities shouldn't be discounted. True, they are not published books, so they don't contribute to my yearly totals, but it's still reading.

3. The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney. This was a great read. Fast, too, because I got completely sucked into the world of being a Spook's apprentice. Very nicely done, Mr. Delaney. Very nicely done.

It's the story of a 13 year old boy who's learning how to deal with witches, boggarts and other things that go bump in the night. An exciting read.

4. So then I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was pretty good. I was intrigued for the first 200 pages or so, and then it sort of stalled for me. But the narrator was interesting and the story was compelling enough to keep reading. The thing I liked the most was the literary style of writing. For example:

It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it had pulled it on, the way you pull on a sweater. Next to the train line, footprint were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice.

As you might expect, someone had died.

I've really been paying attention to what I read, what strikes me, what I really, really like. And sentences like these are brilliant. I really need to learn to write like this. I love it. Here's another bit from The Book Thief.

The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places, it was burned. There were black crumbs, and pepper, streaked across the redness.

Both of those passages conjured such great imagery for me. Other moments of brilliance were sprinkled throughout, so while I grew tired of plot at about page 200, I was able to press on and finish.

Because of the writing itself.

I read Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr last year, so it doesn't count, but she had this same style of literary writing mixed with an interesting story. Not too purple, but enough to stun you with the power of the words.

I so want to write like that.

5. Maximum Ride, The Final Warning by James Patterson. Okay, okay, I admit, I still have about 50 pages in this one. But it's a fast read, so I'll be done by the end of the day. I love the way Mr. Patterson weaves together the present tense commentary of the narrator with the past tense telling of the story. This is something I *love* and am trying to do in a novel I've written.

So here's my question, and it's really several. What books have you read where you fold down the pages because of the writing? Not necessarily the story, but the actual writing on the page? I need to read those books. Also, how have you decided what kind of writer you want to be? Do you want to write the gripping passage about a single color? Or are you the type that just writes what needs to be written? I'm a little of both. I'm trying to be more literary, but sometimes that's a hard mix with the sarcasm I've got going on.

*Snarf, snarf, snarf*

So how to you balance what you're writing? Some of everything in the book? Different styles for different stories?

See? Told you I had a lot of questions.

And the Winner is...

The Getting to Know You contest was sure a lot of fun. I loved reading about what you all write, what you like to eat, and what you do when you're not online blogging. So, without further ado, the winner is...

Janyece!

You've won TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich Smith! Please email me at elanajohnson at gmail dot com with your name and mailing address and I'll get this bad boy in the mail.

Thanks for entering everyone! I love doing contests...but my biggest problem is knowing what people want to win. So, I thought I'd ask. What do you want to win? Books? Query letter critiques? What?

Teen Book Drop 2009

Support Teen Literature Day is coming up on April 16th. Since I'm all over the teen scene, I've stumbled on some young adult blogs. One of them is the readergirlz blog. You should go check it out if you're a young adult writer.

This is a trailer for Operation: TBD (Teen Book Drop), where they've teamed up with publishers to take books to hospitalized teens all over the country. If you haven't found Guys Lit Wire yet, you should go there too. They have book reviews that are made of awesome. YALSA is also involved, and they have a great website and blog you should check out if you're a YA writer. These are on my daily clicks list.

Oh, and if you wanna find out what you can do, go here.

You Tell Me

So I need a ranting session. I know, I know, I usually subject my friends to this kind of stuff, not the blogosphere. But I needed something to post for today, so this is it.

I think it's a well-known fact that I *heart* Miss Snark's First Victim. I entered the Drop the Needle thingy going on over there. Here's mine. Feel free to tell me what you think (here or over there). Suckage? Dude, you'd read this? Worth sitting down and pontificating on what the freaking ending should be? (Yeah, it's one of those WiP's.)

If you haven't joined the festivities over there yet, you should. It's a fun time for all.

Also on my mind as of late is the trend in young adult fiction. As a lover of YA stuff, I find myself constantly throwing books in the trash. That's right. Books. In the TRASH. When did young adult novels become R, or even X-rated? I mean, teenagers can't get into the movies, but they can read all about it. I'm not a fan of that, which has me reconsidering my love of YA stuff. What say you?

Let's see...what else? What's a blog post without a mention of American Idol? My severe addiction to reality TV has not been addressed on the blog. (I do try to hide some of my indiscretions. ) But it's bad. Maybe even worse than my insane addiction to the Internet. Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and of course, American Idol.

I'm shouting out for Adam Lambert. Love the guy, even though he does wear eyeliner and that's not usually the way I roll. I'm also pulling for Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace. Who do you like?

[rapid topic switch]

I've also noticed that a lot of people post pictures with their blog entries. Hmm...I do not do this so much. I wonder why that is. (Laziness? Undoubtedly.) So I'm wondering, do I need to put pictures with my posts? I mean, I like pictures and all that, and I almost always comment on them. Maybe I'm just picture-challenged. I can never find one that fits perfectly, certainly not like some other people I've seen. Maybe that's it. Fear of being picture-inferior. Thoughts on the whole picture thing? Or just my insecurities? (Man, who knew this ranting stuff would be like therapy?)

Whatev. You tell me.