FF - TRANCE

Happy day-after-TRANCE-release day!

Lots of celebrating still happening on this end.

Here's what's going on:

* Yay! TRANCE is now available at a bookstore near you!

***

* Yay! DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE have just been nominated for the 2011 ALA Popular Paperback list.

***

* Yay! My niece Katie is getting married tomorrow. I'm in Arizona with family, getting ready for her reception noir.

***

* Yay! I'll be signing TRANCE at a book event in Tempe on Monday with Lisa McMann and Aprilynne Pike! (If you're in the area, please come! I'd love to meet you. It will be at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S McClintock Drive, Tempe from 7-9 p.m.)

***

I'm so psyched, I feel like giving stuff away. Up for grabs this week are three signed copies of TRANCE, and your own, personal name numbers reading.

To enter:

* Leave a message below, telling me something you can celebrate this weekend.
* Check out your local bookstore and take a picture of TRANCE on the shelves. Send it to me.
* Invite your friends to participate in this drawing (make sure they tell me who sent them.)

You may earn one entry for each of the above. This drawing will remain open until Wednesday, October 20.

Let the TRANCE begin

Shhh... I'm not really here. I'm at RWA Nationals in Orlando and I'm ditching one of the workshops to use the Internet when it isn't subdivided by two thousand other attendees...

By way of a heads up - watch this space starting Monday, August 2, when the countdown for the official launch of TRANCE begins. For the next three months, in addition to our regularly scheduled Freebie Fridays, we will be giving away a bigger, monthly prize to celebrate the upcoming release.

August's prize is brought to you by the good people at CSN. They carry awesome things like home decor, bookshelves, and lights. (You'll want to browse the site, because the giveaway in August is an $80 giftcode for use at CSNstores.com) Come on back Monday for the kick-off, and I'll tell you how you can enter to win.

Also... I just met Melissa de la Cruz and Ally Carter here at RWA, and they have each offered signed copies of their respective awesome books, I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU and THE VAN ALEN LEGACY.

Be sure to hang out with us in August for chances to win these and other phenomenal prizes!

And now... I'm slipping back into the workshop...

And the Fun Begins...

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope your day is as beautiful where you are as it is here. I'll be spending as much of it outside as I can.

This week's winner of a signed ARC of TRANCE is:

Isi and Jas's Mom

Please shoot me an email with your mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and I'll get that sent out to you.

Be sure to come back on Friday with another GCC freebie featuring Jeri Smith-Ready and her brand new, just released book SHADE. You won't want to miss this one!

What's up this week?

It's another busy one! In fact, this whole month is going to be crazy busy. Here's where I'll be. If you're close by, come say hello. I'd love to see you!

5/5 Thurber House 6:30 pm 77 Jefferson Avenue Columbus, OH
5/8 Ohioana Book Festival 274 E. First Avenue Columbus, OH
(Panel Discussion@2:00 pm, Reading @3:00 pm)
5/12 Karrer Middle School Author Visit Dublin, OH
5/24-27 Book Expo America, NYC
5/24 Teen Author Carnival 5-8 pm Jefferson Market Branch Library
425 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY
5/26 Group Signing with Stephanie Kuehnert, Melissa Walker and Erica Kirov 6-8 p.m.
Books of Wonder 18 West 18th Street New York, NY

Also this week: TFC is welcoming four new authors to our fold. Be sure to drop in for the introductory week starting on Monday and say hello to Elizabeth Scott, Josh Berk, Jessica Brody and Greg Logsted!

Happy Release week to: A BLUE SO DARK by Holly Schindler, THE DAUGHTERS by Joanna Philbin, THE DEADLY SISTER by Eliot Schrefer, GIGGED by Heath Gibson, THE ORACLE OF DATING by Allison van Diepen, PICTURE THE DEAD by Adele Griffin & Lisa Brown, THE PYRAMID OF SOULS by Erica Kirov, SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi, FIRE WILL FALL by Carol Plum-Ucci, FIRE WILL FALL by Carol Plum-Ucci, JEKEL LOVES HYDE by Beth Fantaskey, MARCIA'S MADNESS by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Greg & Jackie Logsted, THE REASON: GHOST HUNTRESS by Marley Gibson, ZEN AND XANDER UNDONE by Amy Kathleen Ryan, COMPROMISED by Heidi Ayarbe, FRIEND IS NOT A VERB by Daniel Ehrenhaft, LIES: A GONE NOVEL by Michael Grant, LITTLE VAMPIRE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott & Lynn Messina, THE PRINCE OF MIST by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, THE RED PYRAMID: THE KANE CHRONICLES by Rick Riordan, SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready, SOMETHING LIKE FATE by Susane Colasanti, SPELLS by Aprilynne Pike, and THIRTEEN PLUS ONE by Lauren Myracle.

This week's video linkie - because I am so stoked to see Iron Man 2 this week and this commercial made me laugh:

Freebie Friday with Jessica Brody

I'm happy to present GCC sister Jessica Brody for this week's Freebie Friday!

The Author:

Jessica is the author of two books for adults. The Karma Club is her first book for teens. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California where she is working on her next novel. Despite what some people from her high school might claim, she has never sought revenge on an ex-boyfriend. Visit her online at: http://www.jessicabrody.com

The Book:

When you mess with Karma, Karma messes back...

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve. But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind and get back at the people who have wronged them. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.

What people are saying:

"Written with wit and panache. Readers will have fun with this one, and it might make them think a little, too."--Booklist

“Fresh, funny and engaging. This is one YA debut you won’t want to miss.” -Alyson Noël, NYT bestselling author of The Immortals series

"A well-paced comedy, with a nice balance of cinematic physical humor and genuine teen emotions."--Publisher's Weekly

The Book Trailer:

The Freebie(s):

1. For a chance to win one of FOUR Flip cameras (plus a ton of other cool prizes), check out Jessica's website to enter.

2. I'm blogging over on Micol Ostow's blog today. Stop by and you could win BOOKS!

3. Leave a comment below telling me if you have ever tempted fate (and what happened) and you could win a signed ARC of TRANCE.

FF - GONE by Lisa McMann

Today's Freebie Friday format will be a little different.

We're celebrating Lisa McMann today. Lisa's a friend I met through the Backspace writers' hangout. She's as funny, genuine and real in person as she is online. And she's a New York Times best selling author. All the books have hit the NYT, USA Today and Amazon bestseller lists and her WAKE series is sitting pretty at #10 on the NYT series list (huge! Yay, Lisa!)

Besides admiring her writing and really liking her as a person, here's another reason why I think Lisa rocks. (Remember I said I'd tell you later?) At the risk of being really presumptuous, I asked Lisa - as she was gearing up to go on tour with GONE, no less - if she could read TRANCE and possibly give me a blurb for the cover. I have to tell you, I was really hesitant about asking her because she has sooo much going on. But Lisa was very gracious about it (as always. I've never known her to not be completely supportive and generous with her time). So here's the blurb as she wrote it:

A fast-paced, heartwrenching paranormal thriller co-starring
a sexy motorcycle-riding guy who plays piano?
This is seriously my kind of book. TRANCE is addictive.

Woot! She liked it! Now as these things go, the publiser condensed the blurb a little for the front cover. So this is what you'll see:

BUT - this post isn't about TRANCE. Back to GONE!
Here's the official blurb:

Things should be great for Janie--she has graduated from high school and is spending her summer with Cabel, the guy she's totally in love with. But deep down she's panicking about how she's going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people's dreams is really starting to take its toll. Things get even more complicated when she meets her father for the very first time--and he's in a coma. As Janie uncovers his secret past, she begins to realize that the choice thought she had has more dire consequences than she ever imagined.

Seriously, this book is sooo good.

AND, you're going to want to pay attention to Lisa in the coming year because her next book - a standalone called CRYER'S CROSS - sounds like it's going to be filled with shivery goodness, too. You won't want to miss it.

And, all you MG fans, watch for her MG series (2011) called THE UNWANTEDS. It's one of those fabulous concepts that, when she was telling us about it, I was like, man! I wish I'd thought of that!

In short, Lisa is brilliant.

Okay, now for the interview: Instead of the regular format, I'll share some of the questions/answers from the signing on Tuesday:

What's up with the timestamps in the books?
Although it isn't spelled out in the books, this is because when Janie is sucked into a dream, she would be very aware of the time she was "out" and as such, checking the time. (Which is exactly what Ashlyn does in TRANCE! But again, this post is not about my book...)

Why did you decide to write about dreams?
The books actually grew from a dream Lisa had one night where she was inside her husband's dream. She woke up and thought it would be an interesting concept for a story and wrote it down on the little notepad she keeps on her bedside table.

Are any of your characters based on people you know?
Captain and Sir in particular as based on people Lisa knows. She also said that there's parts of her in both Janie and Cabe and that her son was a big inspiration for Cabe.

Why did you choose that social class for Janie and Cabe?
Lisa covered this in depth on Holly Cupala's 'story secrets' a little while ago. Basically, she loves to root for the underdog so she gave them underdog challenges.

What books are you reading now/ what books to you recommend?
HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT by Natalie Standiford
FAT CAT by Robin Brande
JUMPING OFF SWINGS by Jo Knowles
20 BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler
THE MARK by Jen Nadol

Up for grabs this week: a signed copy of GONE! To be entered to win, leave a comment below telling me either 1.) why you love Lisa McMann or 2.) how much you want to read GONE. This contest will remain open until Wednesday, March 10.

Everybody Wins!

On the iPod - No Time by The Guess Who
(not really, but it would be the perfect theme song for me this week!)

This is going to be a quick post. The combination of very sick child, broken clothes dryer that forces me to go to a laundromat, four snow days in the past week for the kids, possible strep for me, a foot of snow outside and a looming deadline has left me with zero time to blog.

So here's what we're going to do... Everyone who commented on Julie's interview wins. The first three to send me an email with their mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com get a signed THE IRON KING bookmark. Everyone else can have either a DEATH BY bookmark or, if they are willing to wait until mid-March, a shiny new TRANCE bookmark. Or both.

Oh, whatever... ANYONE who wants a TRANCE bookmark or two or three (and is willing to wait until mid-March to get it) go ahead and send me your mailing instructions, too and I'll put you on the list.

Meanwhile, do come back on Friday for another debut author interview with Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (ten points if you can say her name three times, fast!) author of 8th GRADE SUPERZERO.

Enjoy the rest of the week! See you Friday!

WInner and What's Up Wednesday

What's on the iPod? Break on Through --The Doors

By random drawing, the winner of Irene Latham's LEAVING GEE'S BEND is:

Erica

Please send your mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get that sent out to you. Everyone else, come on back this Friday as we welcome another debut author, Dia Reeves and her book, BLEEDING VIOLET.

What's up this week?

As you might have noticed in the sidebar, TRANCE has a cover! Here it is again - because I love uploading it. Yes, I love Puffin and the cover gods. They have been very good to me. More information on TRANCE will be headed your way in the coming months, so stay tuned.


Lisa McMann is made of awesome. Besides the obvious, I'll tell you why soon, I promise...
Meanwhile, if you haven't entered her "Don't Let Your Dream Fade" Sweepstakes, what are you waiting for? You could win $1000 to pursue your dream.

IMPORTANT: Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake earlier this week. You can help the relief efforts by testing HAITI to 90999 to send $10 to American Red Cross Relief efforts.

And while you're in a giving mood, don't forget the Five Awesome YA Fans support of Devyn Burton's Book Transfusion. Check it out:

And finally, Happy Release Week to
Mari Mancusi BAD BLOOD, Dia Reeves BLEEDING VIOLET, Julie Anne Peters BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I'LL BE DEAD, Shannon and Dean Hale CALAMITY JACK, Carrie Jones CAPTIVATE, Lisa Schroeder CHASING BROOKLYN, Eileen Cook GETTING REVENGE ON LAUREN WOOD, Delia Ephron THE GIRL WITH THE MERMAID HAIR, Noni Carter GOOD FORTUNE, Courtney Summers SOME GIRLS ARE, Angela Johnson SWEET, HEREAFTER, Anna Jarzab ALL UNQUIET THINGS , Rosalind Wiseman BOYS, GIRLS AND OTHER HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, Yxta Maya Murray THE GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO GETTING KIDNAPPED, Irene Latham (of course) LEAVING GEE'S BEND, Jennifer Hubbard THE SECRET YEAR, and Erin Dionne THE TOTAL TRAGEDY OF A GIRL NAMED HAMLET!

That's a lot of good books - and I know I missed a lot of releases this week. Better get reading!

Aaand We're Back

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a great July. I missed you!

Well, okay, I would have missed you if I'd have had time to think about it. Last month was crazy busy, which is why I was away. The good news is, I finished the first round of revisions for TRANCE and I'm excited about how it's turning out.

TRANCE is about two sisters who receive coded premonitions through trance writing, and what goes wrong when one of them misses a message. It comes out next spring and I'll be sharing plenty of teasers here on the blog.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to announce the return of Freebie Friday! Be sure to come back tomorrow for our kick off Freebie with Stephanie Kuehnert and her new book, BALLADS OF SUBURBIA.

And check out some of the great authors and books we have coming up!

Jennifer Banash - SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE

Alyson Noel - BLUE MOON

Melissa Francis - BITE ME

Aprilynne Pike - WINGS

Lauren Baratz-Logsted - CRAZY BEAUTIFUL

Lisa Mangum - THE HOURGLASS DOOR

Marley Gibson - GHOST HUNTRESS

Paula Chase Hyman - DEL RIO BAY series

(Wondering what the picture up there has to do with anything? Last night we saw Foreigner in concert. They've still got it after all these years. Great concert, even though turned into a sing-along in the section where I was sitting!)