For Writers - Lynn Sears Williams

Aaand we're back. Thanks for your patience, everyone. This has been a tough couple of months, but I'm on doing better every day... and now I have a whole new realm of experiences to draw from for future stories. It's all fodder, right?

A few items of business before we get started:

First... the winner of DEAR BULLY is: *drumroll*

EBoyd

Please send your mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and I'll get it out to you.

Also, for my Ohio area friends, I hope to see you next weekend at the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference in Cleveland! I'll be presenting one workshop on the art of suspense, and one on visual storyboarding with the four-act structure. Come say hello!

I'll also be presenting on the Hero(ine)'s Journey in YA fiction with Jen McAndrews at the Emerald City Writers' Conference in October... which I've just been informed is sold out, so...

If you're interested in the workshop, but won't be at the conference in Seattle next month, you can join us for a month-long online class wherein we will dig into the mythic structure in YA, including breakdowns of recent YA fiction and film. Register through Carolina Romance Writers.


Now, with the business out of the way, I am pleased to welcome Lynne Sears Williams to the blog for this week's Tip Tuesday (or Wednesday, as the case may be...) Lynne's new book, THE COMRADES, made its debut last month. Here's the official blurb:

9^th century Wales...

Evan, king of Powys, returns from a wedding to find a village ransacked, with women and children dead. Neighboring Gwynedd has broken the peace, crossing the mountain to pillage and murder. The dead babes tear his heart, and Evan vows to break the heart of Gwynedd.

Gwynedd's most guarded treasure is a pampered princess. In a bloody raid, Evan's comrades return to Powys with Gwynedd's heart.

Evan knows holding the princess will be dangerous and her safe-keeping may mean the difference between the lasting peace he desires and a bloody war. He's prepared for her to be kept safe but unprepared for the girl's intelligence, compassion and damnably kissable mouth.

Morleyna's secret gift of Sight reveals a cruel betrayal that sends Evan on a mystical journey where he discovers his only chance for redemption rests in the hands of his captive.

Her brothers will arrive to claim their sapphire-eyed sister. Will her kinsmen, bent on revenge, destroy Evan and his comrades? Or will destruction come from Morleyna who may be the reincarnation of someone whose beauty captivated a nation?

You all know how much I adore Diana Gabaldon, right? Here's what she had to say about The Comrades: "Three more engaging Welshmen have never been written! By turns hilarious, poignant, bloody--and bloody accurate--historical fiction seldom gets as good as this."

You can find out more about Lynne, and about The Comrades on her website, facebook, and on her blog.

Lynne's tip:

"Diana Gabaldon's advice holds true for all authors: read, read, then read some more.

I would add to not block where your characters are going or decide how they should act; you may be sad or delightfully surprised as events play out. Let *them* speak and do. Since I do not have a plan -- I write in chunks -- I'm amazed how the characters solve their issues. At the end of the day, it's *their* story."

And now, lots of links:

Books for Boys webinar FREE with John Scieszka! (Event Register) <<< TOMORROW!
Boys don't read??? (The Other Side of the Story) Ha. Just ask my son. : )
Boy and Fiction: Is There Any Hope? (New York Times)
1 Reason To Know Your Characters Well (Mystery Writing is Murder) "To stress them out!"
3 Ways to Determine if Your Writing is Crap (Jodi Hedlund) Help is helpful.
5 Ways to Improve Your Fiction (Huffington Post)
5 Things Writing Experts Won't Tell You (James Killick's Blog)
6 Dialog Traps to Avoid (Indie Author)
10 Tips for Becoming a Top-Notch Proof Reader (Procrastinating Writers)
10 Stages of Story Development (W.I.P It)
10 Things NOT to do When Building Characters (Julie Musil)
101 Best Fiction Writing Tips (Write it Sideways pt.1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4)
Gaining Perspective (Cathering Knutson) Art takes time.
Ooo... Spooky Story Starters (Spilling Ink) Fun. : )
How to Find Cliches in Your Writing (Beyond the Margins) "Take your time. Write what you mean."
Anxious Writer 200 Questions Before Lunch (Beyond the Margins) Very funny.
Details and Generalities (Adventures in Children's Publishing) Excellent post.
Internal and External Inspirations (Writer Unboxed) What inspires you as a writer?
One Teen's Thoughts About YA (Julie Musil) Worth reading.
YA Writers: Read it or Don't Bother Writing it (Fiction Groupie) AMEN.
To Plot or Not to Plot (Ingrid's Notes) The difference between narrative and story.
Frustration: Your Novel's Best Friend (The Bookshelf Muse) "Frustration is awesome."
How to Start a Story (Beyond the Margins) great beginnings.
What to Expect - Writing Workshops for Kids (Imagination Soup)
Mad Libs or Method? On Doing Research While Writing (Grub Street Writer)
So What if Your Book Doesn't Sell? (Jennifer Represents)
There is No Such Thing as an Overnight Success Story (Nathan Bransford)
Nefarious Narrative Distance (The Bluestocking Blog)
Who's Your Audience? (Beyond the Margins)
How to Plot Your Novel (Jill Corcoran Books)
In Fiction, Opposites Attract (Wall Street Journal)
Breaking the Rules Can Lead to Failure... or Possibly Magic (Adventures in Children's Publishing)
Finding Your Writing Process (The Other Side of the Story)
The Difficulty of Finding Ideas that Publishers Like (Jody Hedlund)
Perfection and Productivity (Mystery Writing is Murder)
Dialog - It's Not Just Talking (Scott Egan)
Cramped Middles (Fantasy Faction)
Make Your Ending As Big as Possible (The Sharp Angle)
Should You Outline (The Sharp Angle)
The Power of Deadlines (Cheryl's Musings)

Now go. Write!

One More Day

Many apologies. Unexpected setback today. This week's tip Tuesday and the Dear Bully winner will be up tomorrow. Please check back! Thanks.

Dear Bully

To start off, thanks for the emails and texts. I appreciate your concern and support. It's been a dicey few weeks, but I am feeling better every day and hope to be back to 100% right soon. Energy/concentration allowing, we will return to Tip Tuesdays next week.

Today, we are celebrating the release of the DEAR BULLY anthology. This book was the brainstorm of Megan Kelly Hall and Carie Jones, YA authors who wanted to do something to reverse the trend of bullying we had been seeing in our schools and on the news. The proceeds of the book will be donated to Stomp Out Bullying, an anti-bullying organization. I am honored to have contributed a piece for the anthology.

Here is the official description:

You are not alone

Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the “funny guy” into the best defense against the bullies in his class.

Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.

Reviews, background, and additional essays can be found at dearbully.com

Please help support the cause. DEAR BULLY is available online through indiebound, barnes & noble, amazon, and at a bookstore near you.

FREEBIE: I happen to have one extra copy of DEAR BULLY to give away. If you'd like to be entered to win, leave a comment below, telling us about your experience with/thoughts about bullying. This drawing ends 9/13/2011. Winner to be announced on next week's Tip Tuesday post.

TWISTED Tour Stop!

How do you define the “Best Night Ever?” Does going on a mini shopping spree for a chic new outfit, dinner out with your bestie and seeing your favorite music act live in concert sound like it would do the trick? If so, read on!

To celebrate the release of TWISTED, the third book in her Intertwined series featuring Aden Stone, Gena Showalter is rocking out with her author buds on The TWISTED Tour. The tour spans almost two weeks and 11 author websites, including this one, from August 22nd through September 2nd. The Grand Prize winner will be awarded all the essentials for a perfect night out, including:

- $250 Ticketmaster Gift Card

- $100 American Eagle Outfitters Gift Card

- $100 Visa Gift Card for Dinner

- Glam Urban Decay Makeup Gift Set

A Second Prize winner will receive an autographed set of Gena’s Intertwined series, including INTERTWINED, UNRAVELED and TWISTED.

HOW TO PLAY: Visit www.KnightAgency.net/twistedtour.php and check the tour schedule. Visit the sites of each author on their assigned tour date and locate the concert ticket image.

At the end of the tour, fill out the form on the aforementioned TWISTED Tour contest webpage by matching the images you found to the authors’ websites that they were located on before Sunday, September 4^th at 11:59pm ET. The winners will be randomly drawn and notified on or around September 9^th, 2011.

Good Luck & ROCK ON!

The 411 on TWISTED: His vampire girlfriend might have brought him back to life, but he's never felt more out of control. There's a darkness within him, something taking over…changing him. Worse, because he was meant to die, death now stalks him at every turn. Any day could be his last.

Once upon a time, the three souls trapped inside his head could have helped him. He could have protected himself. But as the darkness grows stronger, the souls grow weaker—just like his girlfriend. The more vampire Aden becomes, the more human Victoria becomes, until everything they know and love is threatened.

Life couldn't get any worse. Could it?

TWISTED Tour Author Quiz: When I Was a Teen…

1. What did you do during your “Best Night Ever” as a teen?

We used to go dancing at "The Star Palace" or crash the local college's parking lot dances. But one of my favorite nights was when my best guy friend took me to dinner on a deserted island - which turned out to be a candlelit table in the middle of one of those concrete islands on University Avenue (the main drag in my town). His friend was dressed up as our waiter. It was probably highly illegal, but I loved the creativity.

2. What musical act topped the charts?

Wow. This will age me. Blondie was big back then. Call Me was one of my favorite songs. Also, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Queen, Styx, Rod Stewart, The Police, The Spinners, Kool and the Gang... yeah. I'm old.

3. What was your favorite outfit to wear then that totally mortifies you now?

It wasn't so much the outfits as the hair. I had really big hair back then.

4. What was the most overused expression by you and your friends?

"Puh-leez" and "for sure!"

5. What did you think you would be when you “grew up?”
A historian/travel agent. (I planned to finance my historical research travels with comp trips.) At least I got the travel and love of history right...

For Writers - Shark Week!

This week's tip celebrates Shark Week.

A lot of people believe sharks have to keep swimming all the time or they will die. As a result, there's an analogy floating around out there that writers are like sharks because for us writing is swimming... we must keep writing/swimming or we will die. (I can hear Dory from Finding Nemo: Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim!)

But here's the thing; while it's true that some sharks need constant motion to keep oxygen-rich water flowing over their gills, others are able to pass water through their respiratory system to breathe. Those sharks can rest on the ocean floor without keeling over. So where does that leave writers? Minus one cool analogy?

Not so quick. Here's something else about sharks we can relate to. "Unlike bony fishes, which tend to be restricted to certain depth ranges, sharks are able to move easily between varying depths in the water. Bony fishes utilize swim bladders to move up or down vertically in the water or remain at a uniform depth... sharks don't have a swim bladder." (American Museum of Natural History) This cool adaptation allows sharks to move up and down freely, exploring in a way the depth-confined bony fishes could only dream of. But since sharks don't have that bladder to provide buoyancy, they have to keep swimming, or they will sink.

So there you go. Writers are like sharks, not because we'll die if we aren't constantly writing, but because if we don't consistently write, we will sink. We will lose our momentum. Our buoyancy. We need to be constantly exploring, feeding on the chum that life throws at us. Making forward progress. We are writers. We write.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of doing a book event with @KristinaMcBride, @JuliaKarr @SarahBennettWealer @SaundraMitchell @KayCassidy and @JulieKagawa. One of the attendees asked if we could share our daily writing process. What I found interesting was that every one of those authors on the panel are prolific, disciplined writers, and each one had a different process. Kay Cassidy challenges herself to complete a scene before she calls it a day. Saundra Mitchell sticks to a word count. We all write just a little bit differently, but the one thing we had in common was that we keep writing.

So here's my challenge to you for August. Choose a goal. It can be a certain number of words per day, a certain amount of time, a completed scene, a number of pages. Whatever works for your process, set the goal. Keep it realistic. Now commit to meeting that goal every day this month. Keep writing, writing, writing. And enjoy the freedom the bony fishes will never understand.

Links:

The Long and Persistent Road (AdventuresInChildrensPublishing) Just keep swimming...

Was Giving Up Ever an Option? (QueryTracker) Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

Keeping the Faith (WriterUnboxed) What do we do? We swim!

Multi-book deals Pros and Cons (Clarion) Market insights from Ginger Clark

Speech mannerisms and body language (JudyMusil) More gold in the comments as well.

Key Conflict is Key (ScottEgan) Dump the rest.

Oranges and Apples - finding comfort in your own skin (WriterUnboxed) "In the end, we are all fruit." (Quick! Who said that?)

How to Write a Query Letter (RachelleGarnder) Advice from an agent

Basic Pitch Formula for Novelists (JaneFriedman) From the Midwest Writers Workshops

Learning about plot and story telling from The Purple Crayon and Tana French (TheMillions) Excellent essay.

3 Mortal Sins of Fiction (Wordplay) Interrupting, Preaching, Apologizing

5 Ways to Kick Your Writing Up a Notch (TheOtherSideoftheStory)

6 Structural Problems Writers Face (WriterUnboxed) and how to fix them

My Tools of the Trade (YA Muses) Some old, some new (some borrowed, some blue?)

The ABC's of Story Structure (AdventuresInChildren'sPublishing) Simplified 3-act structure

Stop Sabotaging Your Writing! (WOW) We can join recovery together...

Now go. Write!

SMALL TOWN SINNERS winner & More Links!

Thanks to everyone who shared their struggles in the comments. I don't know about anyone else, but for me it helps to know I'm not the only one who gets her boat rocked from time to time. SMALL TOWN SINNERS is especially for us! But, alas, only one winner, so here we go...

*drumroll* The winner is.... *drumroll*

Tiff

Please send your mailing information to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get that sent out to you.

Meanwhile, I promised more links to go with this week's Tip with Jennifer Echols. To make it easier for everyone to follow them, I have edited yesterday's post to add the links here.

Have a great Wednesday!

For Writers - LOVE STORY with Jennifer Echols

Today I'm pleased to bring you a special edition of Tip Tuesday, celebrating the release of LOVE STORY by Jennifer Echols.

We're big fans of Jen in our house. Her ENDLESS SUMMER is a permanent fixture on my daughter's bedside table. Now we're looking forward to diving into LOVE STORY. Jennifer is a former newspaper editor and college writing teacher. We're glad she is now writing books for teens. You can find more about Jennifer on her website, on facebook, and by following her on twitter.

Here's the official blurb on LOVE STORY:

SHE’S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE’S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions—it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

And here's Jennifer's tip:

It’s great to get feedback about your writing, but you should only pay attention to revision suggestions that ring true to you. I’ve overheard so many writers talk about making every change their writing groups want them to make, whether they understand those changes or not. Writing a novel may be a collaborative effort--especially after you sell it, and you are under contract to produce something your editor wants to buy--but *you* are still the author.

When I was trying to sell my novel *Going Too Far*, an editor said she was interested in buying it, but only if I made one very significant revision. As it stood, the book was a romantic drama with a happy ending. This editor wanted me to KILL THE HERO at the end of the book. When my agent relayed this message to me, she asked me if I was sitting down first. And when I started to cry, she told me she had expected me to react that way and assured me that she didn’t think it was strange at all.

In my heart, I knew that the revision the editor was suggesting might make the book sell better. Witness the success of the movie *Titanic*, in which Leonardo DiCaprio bites it at the end. Personally, I hated that movie. I did not want to see it because I knew how it ended. I suffered through it because I was trying to get a YA novel published even then, and I felt that for the sake of my writing, I needed to keep up with popular culture for teenagers. But observing that teenagers loved this tragic love story did not make me want to write one. I knew what I wanted to write, and that wasn’t it.

I was afraid that if I didn’t make the change this editor was suggesting, I would not be able to sell *Going Too Far* anywhere at all. But that was a risk I was willing to take. Writing is difficult. Selling writing is even harder, at least for me. If I am not writing the book I want to read, none of this is worth it. I want to produce books that other people want to read, but my most important reader is myself. Luckily, there were two other editors who were willing to buy *Going Too Far* just as it was, and we sold the book to one of them. But if we had not, I would have stood by my decision to stay true to my own artistic vision.

Thank you, Jennifer! I for one am glad you stuck with your original vision!

And now, this week's links:

The Gift Writers Give (Great Thoughts) Inspiration

The Learning Curve (BethRevis) It has its ups and downs...

The "new" Author Platform (TheBookDeal) How's your visibility?

Visual Story Maps (The Creative Penn) Fun... but don't use to procrastinate!!

Embrace Failure (FromTheMixedUpFiles...) From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success. (First one to tell me where that's from wins a five-page critique.)

Writing vs. Acting (BeyondtheMargins) From scratch or script.

Procrastination (WriterUnboxed) Something I understand much too well...

Write What They Don't Know (TheOtherSideofTheStory) Plot the unexpected.

Writer as Observer (BeyondtheMargins) Enter the trance...

MG/YA Question Roundup (TheOtherSideoftheStory) Good stuff.

Dealing with Critique Feedback (WriterUnboxed) Also, see Jen's tip, above.

When to Show & When to Tell (AdventuresinChildrensPublishing) Bonus: links within the link!

Indie, Small Press, or Big 6? (AnneRAllen) From someone who has published w/all three.

Writing life: Ideal vs Reality (JodyHedlund) "Barking Dog Days of Writing Life"

Preparing for Luck to Strike (AdventuresInChildrensPublishing) Luck is what happens when
opportunity meets preparation.

JK Rowling dishes on how to write and publish (TheAdventurousWriter) "It's LeviOsa, not LevioSA..." (Quick! Which Harry Potter book/movie is this line from?)

The Intern on How Books Work: THE HUNGER GAMES (part 1) (part 2) ***Excellent***

Can your character change? (Genreality) If not, why do we care?

Performing Plot CPR (JulieMusil) Great spreadsheet idea

Performing Scene Open Heart Surgery (James Kilick) (What is up with these emergency medical references this week? Too close to home at the moment!)

Pacing Checklist (TheOtherSideoftheStory) Finding and fixing pacing issues

Voice Tips from the Pros (TheBookshelfMuse) Don't forget this blog as an excellent resource for emotional, setting, character, etc. thesaurus listings. Love!

Testing the Idea (Kristin Lamb) Is it Strong enough to make a novel?

60 Tips on Craft (TheEditor'sBlog) The down and dirty...

45 Flaws that Expose Inexperience (Plot to Punctuation) Scroll down for part I.

10 Rules for Manuscript Evaluation (TheKillZone) Especially for thrillers

8 Steps for More Concise Writing (DailyWritingTips) my favorite remains: Omit needless words.
7 ways to Structure Your Picture Book (Writers' Digest)

7 Steps to Better Villainy (BeyondtheMargins) How to make 'em so bad, they're good.

6 Vital Signs of a Healthy Plot (BeyondtheMargins) Good tips in comments, too.

5 Ways to build coherent scene transitions (HeroNation) "most scenes should build on the preceding scene."

4 Step Strategy for Research (LetTheWordsFlow) Research provides authentic details

Now go. Write!!!

FF - SMALL TOWN SINNERS with Melissa Walker

I'm excited to celebrate this week's release of SMALL TOWN SINNERS by Melissa Walker with another Freebie Friday.

The Author:
Melissa is both a GCC sister and TFC sister. You probably know her as the author of LOVESTRUCK SUMMER and the VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY series. She's also a former ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor, and currently manages the e-newsletter I Heart Daily. Also, check out the hilarious Before You Were Hot. You can find Melissa online on her website, on twitter, or on facebook.

The Book:

Here's the official blurb for SMALL TOWN SINNERS:

Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.

What people are saying about SMALL TOWN SINNERS:
"A devilishly-good read." - Lauren Myracle.
"Non-judgmental, nuanced, fascinating..." - Romantic Times
"Both tender and provocative..." - Publisher's Weekly
"Walker takes her character's crisis of faith seriously and sensitively..." - Kirkus Reviews

The Interview:

What inspired you to write SMALL TOWN SINNERS?

My friend Joy's mother, Betty, started telling me about her church's "Judgment House" and my jaw dropped. I researched more about Hell Houses and Judgment Houses, and then I pitched my ELLEgirl editor on a magazine story. She bit, I got to write the story. And the small town I visited, plus the teenagers in it, never left me. Here's that original non-fiction story:

http://www.melissacwalker.com/media/ellegirl-hellhouse.jpg

Are you superstitious in any way?

I would at first say no, but a black cat crossed my path the other day and my husband said, "We just got black catted!" So I guess we both noticed and worried a little, and that qualifies, right? For the record: Nothing bad happened... uh, yet?

Do you have any special writing rituals or totems to connect with your muse?

Now that I'm very pregnant, I've moved from my traditional writing chair (overstuffed, pink with flowers, so comfy!) to one of those exercise balls. Because good posture and bouncing seems more essential these days. But I still feel like that big blue ball can be a different kind of muse.

What's your favorite quote?
"A rising tide lifts all boats." (It helps me remember to avoid being jealous of others' successes. It's so much more fun to be joyful with them.)

What are you working on now?

My next book will be a May 2012 release from Bloomsbury. The title isn't final yet, but it involves a dual love story with a hefty dose of friendship angst. I'm deep in revisions right now!

If SMALL TOWN SINNERS were made into a movie, who would you like to see in the role of Lacey?

If I could shuffle around the cast of Friday Night Lights, I'd use them all to play the characters in this book.

The Freebie:

To be entered to win a signed ARC of SMALL TOWN SINNERS, leave a comment below telling us how your summer is going and/or if you have ever had a crisis of faith. The drawing will remain open until Wednesday, July 27.

Friday Winner!

It's Friday! Which means I am late in announcing the winner of the Amazon gift certificate and Possession swag. I do apologize. Deadline weeks are insane.

And now, without further delay, the drawing.

*Drumroll, please*

And the winner is... Erica.

Please send your mailing info to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get your gifts sent out to you.

Everyone, please join us back here on Tuesday for the return of Tip Tuesday, and next Friday for another Freebie. Have a stellar weekend!

FF - Possession by Elana Johnson

Just in time for your Independence Day weekend - Freebie Friday returns with Elana Johnson and her newly-released YA dystopian, POSSESSION.

Elana is a GCC sister with a unique vision of the perfect world. (In her world, Oreos and bacon would be the only food groups. Everyone would drive 10 over the speed limit. Winter would be eliminated as a season. She would have the ability to experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like mind reading and controlling fire.) She lives and writes in central Utah with her husband and two kids.

You can find her online on her website, on facebook, by following her on twitter, reading her blog, and catching her on the league of extraordinary writers.

Here's the official blurb for POSSESSION:

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself. But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them….starting by brainwashed Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous: everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn. This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

What people are saying about POSSESSION:

"...countless moments of 'Wow.'" --James Dashner, bestselling author of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials "...very nice balance between badass action and romantic tension for readers who like a good mix of the two." --MTV.com “... a dark twist ending that maintains the faintest glimmer of hope.” --Publisher's Weekly "This debut dystopian succeeds at suspense and tension.... Revelations come hard and fast." --Kirkus “... heroic adventure turns into a tragic love story.” –School Library Journal "...intriguing distopia." --Booklist

The Interview:

What's one thing most people don't know about you?

I attended four universities/colleges before I graduated from Southern Utah University with a BS in Elementary Education and a minor in Mathematics. Doesn’t sound like what a writer would do, does it?

What's your favorite quote?

“Never give up! Never surrender!” ~Galaxy Quest

What is an interesting writing quirk of yours?

I don’t write in order, and I don’t outline. I simply open a document and start pouring words into it.

If POSSESSION were made into a movie, who would you like to see in the role of Vi? Jag?

Well, Vi is harder, because she’s got a particular look in my head. But Jag could easily be played by David Henrie from Wizards of Waverly Place.

What kind of chocolate best describes you?

Semi-sweet. I’m the best of both worlds, baby. Ha!

What are you working on now?

I’m currently stewing over a contemporary novel that takes place in an industrial sized elevator. It’s giving me fits, but I’ll figure it out.

The Freebie:

* a $10 Amazon gift certificate, perfect for ordering your copy of POSSESSION, or downloading the e-book.

* POSSESSION swag, bookmarks, stickers, etc.

To be entered to win, leave a comment below, telling us one feature of your perfect world. This drawing will remain open until Wednesday, July 6.