Party with Alyson Noel

I'm very pleased to welcome TFC sister Alyson Noel to the party. I finally got to meet Alyson in person when the Smart Chicks Kick It tour made its way to Cincinnati last weekend. And yes, she is that gorgeous in real life.

Alyson is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including Faking 19, Fly Me to the Moon, Cruel Summer, and the best-selling Immortals series. One of my favorite characters in that series, Ever's younger sister Riley, just got her own spin-off series, starting with the newly-released Radiance. The sixth and final Immortals book, Nightstar, will hit the shelves next month. As a former flight attendant, Alyson is a world traveler - and so are her books. They've been published in 35 countries so far!

Here's the official blurb for Dark Flame:

In this eagerly awaited continuation of the bestselling Immortals series, Ever struggles to help her best friend Haven transition into life as an immortal—trying to keep her from doing anything that puts them at risk, while attempting to gain control over her enemy Roman, so she can finally obtain the antidote that will allow her and Damen to be together. But when the spell she casts backfires, resulting in a strange, foreign pulse that binds her to Roman instead, Ever turns to Jude and dark magick, desperately attempting to break free of the curse, and ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including her beloved Damen.

And for Radiance:

Welcome to the Here & Now

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley...

Alyson's numbers:

This is an interesting one, as both your first and last name have the same number vibrations.

Your compound value number is twenty. This number is called "the awakening" and can be interpreted as a call for action to some great purpose, cause or duty. Delays or obstacles to one's plans can be conquered through the development of the spiritual side of nature.

The number four indicates someone who is practical, loyal, kind and fair. Fours value justice and hard work. The number four represents both emotional and physical strength, although fours seldom show their inside sensitivities to anyone, and at times their dreams are so grand, it seems as if they are unattainable.

And her reaction:

This reading is truly remarkable, and rings very, very true for me as there were definite delays to my plans until I started to develop my spiritual side, resulting in The Immortals series which contains a spiritual bent.

I like to think that I’m practical, loyal, kind, and fair, I definitely value justice and hard work, I’m a pretty private person, and yeah, I like to dream big as well!!

You can learn more about Alyson and her books at alysonnoel.com.

Today's daily freebie are signed copies of both Dark Flame and Radiance.

Freebie Friday - Summer Reads

It's official - the kids are out of school and the mercury's rising. Summer has arrived, at least in our Ohio town.

With summer comes a whole new attitude, a new set of rules. For instance, my soon-to-be fifth grader son and I lounged around reading until 11 this morning. No chores, no work, no TV, no computer, no breakfast, no showers, just us on the big couch with our books. Maybe this afternoon we'll head to the pool and read some more. I love summer.

Here are some just-released and about-to-be-released suggestions from me:

A KISS IN TIME by Alex Flinn. I love fractured fairy tales and this take on Sleeping Beauty is thoughtful and just plain fun.

WINGS by Aprilynne Pike. This debut novel hit #6 on the NYT bestseller list in its first week. Yay, Aprilynne! A quick, enjoyable read with a completely unique take on faeries.

LOVESTRUCK SUMMER by Melissa Walker. The perfect beach read. A romantic comedy with depth and perfectly lovable characters.

GODDESS BOOT CAMP by Tera Lynn Childs. If you haven't read OH.MY.GODS. yet, do it now and get ready for the next book! (Hint... TLC will be here giving away a copy in two weeks!)

DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER by Ally Carter. Can I just tell you how much I love the characters and humor in the Gallagher Girl series? This one comes out next week and my daughters and I will have to fight over which one of us gets it first.

ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen. You know how much I adore Sarah Dessen. This one comes out June 16. Which should give me just enough time to finish DJAGBHC. : )

BLUE MOON by Alyson Noel. Again, if you haven't yet read EVERMORE, do it now so you'll be ready for this July 7th release!


I could keep going, but I'll give you a little air time. What about you? What books are you looking forward to reading this summer? What books to you recommend I add to my huge TBR pile? Leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of another perfect summer selection, MIND RAIN - an anthology of essays about Scott Westerfield's UGLIES trilogy by YA authors such as Robin Wasserman, Diana Peterfreund, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jennifer Lynn Barnes and me!

This drawing will remain open until Tuesday, June 9.

AND - For two chances to win a copy of DEATH BY DENIM, check out this contest on SereneHours.

AND this contest at Bibliophiles R Us.

Winners and Hints

First of all, thanks everyone, for making Haley feel welcome and for the well wishes! I appreciate it! Now that I'm back online, I have sooo much catching up to do!

Let's start with the announcement of last week's Freebie Friday winners:

Winner #1 is Lalaland
Bonus winner is Pinktooth2

Congrats! Since these are egift cards, make sure I have your name and email addy and I can get them sent right out to you. And Pinktooth, if you could send me your snail mail addy, I can send your bookmarks off.

Everyone else, make sure to join us back here on Friday for two more chances to win. Lucienne Diver will be joining us and giving away her brand spanking new YA novel, VAMPED. I know you won't want to miss that!

Meanwhile, to give you *ahem* a head start on this week's bonus feature, here's where I'm popping up around the web this week:

Celebrating Bookluver Carol's Blog anniversary and talking about writing and research here.
You can also win a copy of DEATH BY DENIM as soon as it's released here.

Remembering the most exotic thing I've eaten abroad on Wendy Toliver's blog.

Getting fired up (again) about Women's Ski Jumping being banned from the Olympics on Jennifer Echols' livejournal.

Confessing my writing bloopers on Amanda Ashby's blog.

Intriguing Diana Wallach about trance writing on her blog.

Talking backstory on Alyson Noel's blog.

Dishing writer advice on Karin Gillespie's Granny Panty Chronicles. (Don't you just love that name?)

Aand I think that's enough for now, don't you? But you might want to peek in tomorrow for more...

FREEBIE FRIDAY with Alyson Noel!

This has been a phenomenal month - so many new releases from fabulous authors! I'm very pleased to introduce this week's guest, Teen Fiction Cafe and GCC sister Alyson Noel, whose newly released novel EVERMORE is already in second printing! AND it's on the Borders.com bestseller for teens list! All this and it was just released on Tuesday. Go, Alyson!

The first book in Alyson's IMMORTALS series, EVERMORE has already earned the Flamingnet Top Choice Award, Teens Read Too's 5 Star Gold Award, four star reviews from Romantic Times and a nod from Booklist for its "humor and authenticity."

And no wonder. Check out the official blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Ever used to have two parents, a little sister, a dog, and a nice house in Oregon. She used to be a varsity cheerleader and go to school dances. But that was before the horrible accident that claimed the lives of her family. Now Ever blares the Sex Pistols through her headphones and hides under her hoodie in class. She doesn’t need to listen to hear, or see to know. All she needs is to touch someone to know their entire life story, not to mention always seeing their auras and hearing their thoughts. She’s been branded a freak at her new high school in Laguna Beach as she goes out of her way to avoid human contact, but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste. From the moment Ever first looks at Damen, she feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies, and nothing is as it seems…

I cannot wait to read this! (It arrived in my shipment this week along with AS King's DUST of 100 DOGS and Justina Chen Headley's NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. See? I'm telling you... so many great new releases! And I won't be able to touch any of them until I meet my deadline. Boo.)

And now, without further whining on my part, Alyson's interview:

What inspired you to write EVERMORE?
A few years ago I lost three people I loved in five horrible months, and just when the dust began to settle my husband was diagnosed with leukemia and it felt like my entire world was crashing down. A year later, when he was in full remission, I wrote SAVING ZOE and CRUEL SUMMER, both of which explore the subject of grief and unavoidable change. But when it came time to write my next book, I realized I wasn’t finished exploring those themes though I wanted to do so in a much different way, by giving the story a paranormal twist and pushing the boundaries between life and death, and EVERMORE is the story that came pouring out of me.

Are any of your characters based on real people that you know?
No, they’re all products of my imagination!

If you could see your own aura, what would it look like when you're happy? Sad?
Happy- bright, vibrant, pulsating orange! J

Sad- Dark, dismal, gloomy, grey L

What excites you?
Opportunity.

What turns you off?
Violence, cruelty, bigotry, negativity, superiority

What's the biggest lie you ever told, and what happened as a result of the telling?
I called in sick when I wasn’t. It resulted in a reallllly fun day!

What's your favorite quote?
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”- Ghandi

What's one thing most people don't know about you?
I have a mad crush on the Spike character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And since I’m new to watching the series, most people don’t know this about me!

What are you working on now?
I recently finished BLUE MOON, the second book in my IMMMORTALS series, that’ll be in stores on 08.04.09, and I’m about half way through the next book in the series, which, for the moment I’m calling UNTITLED BOOK #3-- though I’m sure that title will probably change!

Milk Chocolate or Dark?
Dark. No question.

You can find out more about Alyson and the IMMORTALS series on her website alysonnoel.com, or on her blog.

Alyson has generously offered to give away a signed copy of EVERMORE to this week's lucky FREEBIE FRIDAY winner. To be entered to win, leave a message below, describing what you imagine your aura would look like when you are a.) happy b.) sad and c.) kissing. NOTE: this contest will stay open until Monday, February 9th, due to next week's LOVE FEST > > >

Get your Valentine on right here February 9-14! Guest YA romance authors Simone Elkeles, Tina Ferraro, Melissa Walker, Sasha Watson and Wendy Toliver will dish on romance and relationships AND give away stuff!

SECOND NOTE: only one more day to submit questions for our distinguished panel! Send them to gerb @ lindagerber dot com.

Edited to add: Check it! I just found out I'm the Blogger of the Week over at the Bradford Blog Bash! I might just be inclined to give bonus entries for the EVERMORE drawing to anyone who visits and comments on the post...

Oh, and my dog Kali was wagging it at AS King's blog this week. 

That's all. : )

Winner and Other Great Things

It's Terrific Tuesday! Lots to tell you about today!

First of all, thanks everyone for your perfect man recipes! By random selection, the winner of FAKETASTIC is:
Yan

Please send me an email at gerb @ lindagerber (dot) com with your mailing instructions and we'll get that sent off to you.

Meanwhile, here are some other great chances to win:

Reviewer X is running a contest of epic proportions. I do not exaggerate. You could win about $300 worth of books, gift cards and the like here.

Author Alyson Noel will be joining us this week for our FREEBIE FRIDAY and giving away a signed copy of EVERMORE. In fact today is the official release date for EVERMORE! Happy Release Day, Alyson!!!

Next week is LOVE FEST WEEK here at the blog! Come join YA romance authors Simone Elkeles, Tina Ferraro, Melissa Walker, Sasha Watson, Wendy Toliver and Moi for a week of Q&A on Relationships and Romance. Plus you could win things all week long!

I will be accepting questions for our panel of experts until this Saturday, Feb. 7. Please email them to me at gerb @ lindagerber (dot) com.

See you Friday! Have a great week!

LATTE 4 - ALYSON NOEL

Big welcome to Alyson Noel, author of CRUEL SUMMER and a whole lot more! Alyson's another Teen Fiction Cafe sister.

I’m so excited to take part in Linda’s launch for her awesome new book, DEATH BY LATTE!!! And since the theme of this blog party is lying, it got me thinking about my own lying tendencies, which, truth be told is usually reserved for moments like this:

Friend: So what do you think of my new purse?

Me: It’s great! (Insert big smile and nodding head, hoping she won’t look into my eyes and see what I’m really thinking, while I try to change the subject as quickly as possible).

Harmless, right? I mean, obviously my friend likes her purse, which is why she bought it in the first place. So for me to say that I think it’s hideous (or something far less offensive but still far from my white lie of “it’s great!”) seems kind of pointless. If not a little mean. Which is probably why I usually shop alone.

But those are the kind of white lies we’re ALL guilty of (yes, that includes YOU!). While the bigger lies, the more serious, non-white lies are the sort I try to avoid. Mostly because they tend to turn me into a sweaty, eye avoiding, leg shaking, spazzy mess!

But my characters? Well, they’re another story. And while some of them claim to be terrible at lying too, that doesn’t stop them from trying. Though, since I created them, I like to think that they do have their reasons.

Take Alex, in my debut novel FAKING 19. When she meets sexy, older, Brit, Conner, she doesn’t hesitate to lie about her age, telling him that she’s, um, 19 (hence the title), when the truth is she’s only 17. Her reason for lying? She’s afraid of being rejected if he learns the truth.

Or, Colby, in CRUEL SUMMER, who lies to just about everyone, about just about everything. She even lies to herself. But the only reason she does so, is because she’s afraid of the truth.

And then there’s Ever, in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE, who not so much lies as she withholds information. She’s psychic, she hears other people’s thoughts, sees their auras, and can learn their entire life story merely by touch. And knowing it will freak out her friends almost as much as it freaks her, she chooses not to tell them. Preferring for people to think she’s a freak, rather than learn the real truth.

So, for your chance to win a signed copy of FAKING 19 and CRUEL SUMMER, (sorry, EVERMORE won’t be in stores until Feb 3,2009!), just leave me a comment about one of your lies, someone else’s lies, or your thoughts on lying in general!