Sunday, March 31, 2013

Naked as we Came Tour Stop [Review & Interview]


Date Published:1/21/13
YA Sci-Fi Romance


Sixteen-year-old Cassidy Tomei was one of the lucky few airlifted aboard the Wonder to the planet Nyx. This emergency exodus from Earth was meant to bring new hope for the remaining survivors of humankind, but there’s one problem. Humankind isn’t alone on this mysterious new planet. 

On Nyx, Cassidy is one of many living amongst subzero temperatures and with nothing, but a meager ration of food for every household. When the rations deplete, she flees to into unfamiliar wilderness in search of food, but instead discovers debris from a foreign spacecraft that proves humankind is no longer the dominate species. 

Soon, everything she knows is at stake and everyone she loves is dead. But she’s got one more battle to fight when she’s taken prisoner within Pelhoi, a concentration camp constructed specifically for humans where hominoid creatures dubbed, “the Achillai” reign supreme.






 I've never really been into scifi books but this one left me pleasantly surprised. I was also left heartbroken. This book is particularly sad, but it is also heartwarming at the same time. I felt for the main character Cassidy and I felt like I went through her triumphs and struggles right along with her. I also cried along with her as well. If you are looking for a well written indie novel that has a unique plot, then I would grab this one. Also, the cover is beautiful, don't you think?

Overall:

 
Amberly is an avid reader, a writer and a lazy blogger. Raised in the dirty south, she is a lover of BBQ as well. At just the tender age of 22, she's had her share of college and refuses to go back for as long as possible. After earning an associate’s degree in Graphic Design and Media Arts, she returned to her first love of writing full-time. She currently lives in Memphis TN.
Her favorite tales come from a plethora of the classics such as Jane Austen and some of today's modern favorites such as John Green and Laurie Halse Anderson. She's a lover of all things YA and enjoys even more putting her own spin on the genre herself. She writes for horror, suspense and sci-fi audiences of all ages and loves every second of this whimsical writer's life.
amberlywynn.blogspot.com
twitter:           @rozkae

Buy Links 
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1) Do you listen to music while you write? 

Answer: Yes, I can't even get through writing a synopsis without my Ipod. My favorite bands are indie acts that don't get as much attention as mainstream artists. I love Iron & Wine, Cider Sky, Arcade Fire, The Civil Wars, The Autumn Film, Digital Daggers, The Echo Friendly, Midnight City and The Naked and Famous. These are just some of the many artists I can't get enough of. 

2) Upstairs or downstairs? 

Answer: Upstairs! 

3) Is it hard to finish a novel? 

Answer: This depends on how much enthusiasm I have for certain characters and plots. If I'm so engrossed in a character's story, I have no trouble writing a novel. I've written some novels in less than a week because I was so excited to explore the story and curious to see how it end. 
4) Do ideas come easy for you?

Answer: No, they never do. Even when they do come, I'm always surprised to discover that someone else has already written about it. Then I go back to the drawing board to see how I can put my own spin on the idea to come up with something fresher. I'm a fan of old stories with a new spin! ( I think that the movie "Avatar" did this perfectly!) 

5) What's a side passion aside from writing?

Answer: When  I was younger, I loved to draw. I don't think I ever got any good at it, but I loved it regardless and even wanted to be a graphic novelist at one point. That never amounted to much, but it did help me realize how much more I loved to write. 


6) Candy or chocolate?

Answer: Chocolate, especially Rocky Road ice cream! This is my guilty pleasure when it comes to junk food. 

7) TV shows or movies?

Answer: Movies! I love a great independent film and have discovered some of my all-time favorite movies when I wasn't even looking.    

8) Do you like to read during the day or night?

Answer: The nighttime is perfect for a book. My inner child still loves bedtime stories and can't sleep without one. I get the chance to snuggle up and relax with a good book and if the book is too good, I don't go sleep at all!

9) What can we -readers- expect in Naked as We Came?

Answer: "Naked As We Came" actually ended up being a lot darker than I intended it to be. So I guess what I can tell you is that the story is definitely a dark, emotional, but heartfelt roller coaster of events that I'm hoping will give people something to think about. I wasn't aiming to teach anyone anything, but I was trying to get the theme of family across. Ultimately, the story is one about love and the importance of humanity and family. 

10) The title "Naked as We Came" can suggest many things. What is the main idea behind it and is it at all sexual?

Answer: Ha ha! The title isn't at all sexual and surprisingly enough, I didn't even realize just how sexual it sounded until after I named it! The title was actually inspired by a song of the same name by the band, Iron & Wine. When I listened to this song, I felt that it perfectly represented the novel in so many ways. I felt that the song was written from the perspective of a grieving man who has either lost or is losing a loved one to death. The novel deals with a lot of themes such grief and mourn and how differently we all deal with the same things ourselves. These emotions are extremely relatable and I wanted to convey them in the story as best as I could. I personally think that the song is both sad and beautiful. It had me in tears every time I listened to it. 

11) Do you connect with your characters?

Answer: I try to. Each of the characters have their own burden to bear and each have experienced some degree of pain whether it be emotional or physical. I think that anyone can relate to the emotions they deal with during the course of the novel. I wanted to be inside each of their heads as I typed. It was like roleplaying. I acted out their emotions in my head and even said a bit of their dialogue aloud so I could be sure that it sounded as genuine as possible to fit their personalities. 

12) Spontaneous or planned in writing?

Answer: Definitely spontaneous because I hate writing the dreaded synopsis  The only time I've ever written one is when I had no idea where the story was going or how it would turn out. 

13) Are you a writing perfectionist?

Answer: Yes and I'm also a chronic worrier. To me, the story can never be perfect enough. I always worry that maybe there was something I shouldn't have written or something I should've written. I worry that I was too graphic or dark or that I should've added more or less humor. I worry about all these things and more. Lately, I've learnt not to overthink things so much. I still worry,but it's not as bad as it used to be. All you can really do is write what you think is best and let the rest happen on it's own. I've had to tell myself hundreds of times that there are some things I can't control and I deal with it accordingly. 

Excerpt:
CHAPTER 1



Tariq’s screams wake me.
I jerk up in a daze, colliding headfirst with the frame of the top bunk. The whole wooden bed trembles in rhythm with Tariq’s thrashing body. It wouldn’t surprise me if he rolled out of bed and hit the floor. Poor kid. This is the third cold he’s had this month.
It’s no wonder why. The fire is a smolder. Nothing but ashes burns in the belly of the furnace across the room. He’s probably freezing to death up there.
“Cassidy, are you up yet?” Mama shouts. Her voice quavers from the other side of my bedroom door when she knocks. She’s catching a cold too.
We’re all on the same schedule for cold season this year. It’s not unusual these days. Born and raised in southern Arizona, none of us have gotten used to planet Nyx’s everlasting winter. But it’s a sacrifice we had to make to keep from perishing on Earth with the others.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m up.” But I’m not. I remain in bed, basking in the small ray of warm light casting a gleam onto the dull hardwood floors. Tariq gasps again, this time, crying out as his coughs amplify.
On my tiptoes I look onto the top bunk. There, my little brother lays cocooned in the tattered quilts, shivering, but sound asleep nonetheless.
“Hey, little bug, are you okay?” I coo. He doesn’t move. I lean in, wondering if he’s even still breathing. “Tariq? Come on, it’s time to wake up.”
He rolls over and I note the purple tint in his brown cheeks and the yellowing hue of his eyes. This doesn’t look like an ordinary cold.   
“Tar, wake up.” He doesn’t answer. I put my hand to his forehead. “Geez, boy, you’re cold as ice. Are you okay? Answer me!”
There’s a pause then a gasp and he coughs, spraying blood through his teeth.
“Oh my god.” I unravel him from the sheath of blankets and tote him down the narrow hallway into Mama’s bedroom. She’s all ready for the day and fixing her hair into a bun when I stop in her doorway, knocking on the frame.
“Mama, something’s wrong with Tariq.”
She sighs. “This weather is getting the best of all of us, isn’t it?”
“He’s not breathing,” I say and she scurries over, snatching him out of my arms to rest him atop her sunken burlap cot. In a matter of seconds, she checks for a pulse then vitals, putting all of her previous nursing school training to good use.
“Get me water and a towel,” she says. “Hot water, now, Cassidy!”
I rush out, grabbing a tin bucket from the hallway cupboard, full speed from the hut, neglecting a coat or even a pair of socks. The moment my toes touch the snow outside, my feet burn with blisters as the dry ice cooks the skin.
The wind collides, knocking against my featherweight body so hard that I topple over, forced to crawl the rest of the way. If the wind were any stronger it’d sweep me into the air as I forge against it toward the pump behind our hut.
The rusty thing squeaks when I wind the handle and flushes nothing but brown droplets of water from the faucet. Crap. Of course. It’s only 5AM. They don’t turn on the water until eleven.
They don’t even crank up the underground  generators for electricity until noon. All that talk from before about “conserving our provisions” from Earth was pointless on a planet that is subzero ninety percent of the time.
I need to think fast. Let’s see…the Strip opens at six. Around that time, there’ll be a crowd of colonists already outside the gates fending each other off for the best lumber.
Water isn’t an option for five more hours. Venturing into the forest for wood isn’t forbidden, but inadvisable if you have no idea what you’re doing. Whether I like it or not, braving the inevitable pandemonium at the Strip is all I can do. I rush back inside. Mama hovers over Tariq in the den, cocooning him in blankets on the floor in front the last flame of fire smoldering in the furnace.
“Where’s the water?” she asks. “Cassidy, he’s freezing!”
“There’s no water,” I say. “The pump is dry until eleven. I’m going to the Strip for firewood, okay?”
“There’s no time for that!”
“We don’t have a choice, Mama! I have to go. I’ll be back. Keep Tariq as warm as you can. I promise you, I will be back. Okay?”
She nods. I hurry to my bedroom and slide a large plastic storage bin from beneath the bottom bunk and pick out my best coat along with a pair of mukluks, hand-me-downs courtesy of my older brother, Lonnie.
I dress fast and rush out onto the porch. The first thing that hits me is the wind. It hits me so hard that it dries my face. I lick my cracked lips and taste the fleck of dried blood down the center of a cut. I stuff my hair in handfuls beneath my snowcap, neglecting the stray strands peeking from under.   
Before descending the wooden porch stairway, I make sure to click close the padlock on the hut door and check all the windows for locks as well. It’s better this way to keep others in the colony from getting any ideas.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house isn’t exactly a practiced commandment around here.
I follow the gravel pathway downward, around the bend of the block. More turf huts dot the edges, separated, padlocked and boxed into little sections by rusty wire fences. None of them have smoke in their chimneys which means that either they’re still asleep or heading to the Strip to wait in line with the rest of us.
I’m hoping for the former. The longer they sleep in, the fewer people I’ll have to deal with for the day’s portions. This would be a worthwhile venture it if the wood they threw at us through the shafts were any good.
Every once and a while there’s at least one sadistic woodsman that doles out a fine piece of wood that people swarm over until someone is either shot to death or beaten into submission.
I’ll take whatever I can get right now. Even if it’s scraps, I’ll make do with it for Tariq’s sake. After all, we’ve lived off less. So long as it’s enough to spark a decent flame, I don’t have a problem with accepting second best today.
Halfway down the path, I see the usual grey smoke signal through the thorny treetops. Sometimes, when Nyx’s fog is too thick, the smoke transitions to purple to help fellow colonists see their way into the Heart.
After landing on Nyx, the only things we learnt when the schools were built were trades that would only benefit the colony.
Things like firewood, crop picking and smoke signals are amongst the curriculum for graduation, insisting we learn the exact potion formulated for changing the color of smoke to fit specific situations. Red is for danger. Blue is for weather advisories. Purple is for times like this when seeing is the utmost importance and pink is an SOS.
It’s amazing what a dash of food coloring, potassium chlorate oxidizer and lactose can concoct under the right conditions. I follow the purple smoke in, rounding the gravel pathways further into the most populated part of my colony, Cere –- the Heart.  
Further in, past the horizontal rows of unmarked huts, the lone Quonset amongst a fleet of wooden shacks sits in waiting with the purple smoke signal seeping out from its tin chimney. I smell the fire raging from inside and covet the heat like a dying flower craving water. I rub my hands together, peeling the dead skin rolling off my palms.
These daily windburns have done a number on my skin and caused so much of my complexion to fade in patches of dry cardboard colored flesh. Once, I was blessed with a brilliant brown complexion that’s now sallow beige.
If you’d look at me now, you could almost never tell that I was once teased for being the blackest girl with the kinkiest hair at school in Arizona. I’m a ghost of my former self in this weather and on this planet.
I’m not the only one sucking my cracked lips to keep them from chapping in the wind. There’s already a small huddle of people gathered before the Quonset. The frosted windows are still barred shut and the tin log chutes jutting out its sides are clearly inaccessible.
Nonetheless, there are already people lying outside the place in makeshift sleeping bags and heavy coats. The huge sundial hanging from the Quonset’s hood is around forty-five after five. In a cluster of maybe ten or fifteen people, I figure, I’ve made some good time.
I can handle a crowd this small. I think. There aren’t many people here to fight. I remind myself to not underestimate the company. I stay behind the crowd, burrowing my hands inside my coat pockets, wondering which strategy I’ll go with from here.
I could make a run for it as soon as the chutes open, but that would take some quick feet not to mention some tricky footwork to keep out of the crossfire of others who will be tempted to do the same thing.
Or I could stay back and out of the way until the trampling starts. By then wood will be flying from people’s arms one log at a time. I’m small for my age. I could squeeze into the crowd unnoticed and retrieve the dropped lumber before anyone catches me.
Yeah, that’s best. It’s best not to push my luck by getting too cocky. I’ll stay out of the way and pick up whatever is dropped. As the crowd thickens, I wonder more and more how possible that plan is. What started as a crowd of fifteen is now a twice the number and growing by the second.
I don’t have much wiggle room to maneuver through. I can’t see over the heads of the taller people blocking my view of the chutes. Still, I stand as far away as I can to wait with everyone else as dawn casts light over the colony sundial’s sixth hour. The chutes unlock and the first batch of wood shoots out like torpedoes.
People have to duck to keep from getting hit. I dodge behind the biggest man I find to shield myself. The first batch incites the usual brawl. Two men battle it out over one huge log that’s big enough to fuel a continuous fire for at least two weeks.
The rest of us scatter. We know better than to get in the way of this once the knife is drawn. I make a beeline for the opposite direction, dodging the log that flies at my head. Someone jerks me around. I get out of their way and fall all-fours to search the ground for dropped wood. Overhead, I watch a nice piece of timber burst from another one of the chutes.
It’s right in my path, aiming for me like it’s meant to be mine. I open my arms to catch it then something hits me from the left and takes me down in a tackle that knocks the wind out of me. I sit up wheezing as a boy intercepts the wood midair, looks down at me chuckling then says, “Oops. Better luck next time?”
“Asshole.”
“What was that?”
Holding my stomach, I prop myself onto my feet. “I called you an asshole.”
“It’s not my fault you’re slow with poor reflexes.”
“Whatever,” I say. “Take the wood and get out of my face.” I dust myself off, bruised from limb to ego. All I want to do is disappear even if it’s with nothing, but my tail between my legs so I try, but he sidesteps and blocks off my path.
“Wait…you take it,” he says then shoves the wood at me. “Go on. It’s yours. Take it before I change my mind.”
“I don’t need your charity.”
“You also don’t need that attitude either, but we’re all forced to deal with the cards we’re dealt, right? Besides, there’s no way you’re getting past these other vultures for anything better. Take the wood.”
“Forget it.”
Again, he shoves the wood in my direction. I step back. He steps forward.
“Take the damn wood and stop being so stupid. I’m fast and a good jumper. I can easily catch another piece of wood.”
“I can catch my own wood,” I say, determined to do just that. “Now move!”
A second log whizzes over us. It hits the snow as me and two others scurry toward it. The girl who reaches it first draws a pocketknife and waves it at the rest of us to keep us at bay.
As we stagger back, the man behind her grabs her by the neck and snaps it with one quick motion. In a matter of seconds, he swipes the wood and rushes off. I stand still holding my breath. The boy steps in front of me and drops the log into my arms.
“Here,” he says. “Someone has gotta show some humanity around here.”  
I don’t reply. I watch as he disappears back into the crowd. With him gone, my eyes return to the girl in the snow. I bet she’s no older than Tariq and died over a stupid piece of wood.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Saving Casey Tour Stop [Review]

Saving Casey by Liza O'Connor

Publisher: Bono Books
Date Published: November 18, 2012
ISBN: 9781613334171


Blurb:
Eighty-year-old Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled seventeen-year-old girl named Casey, which all believe has survived a suicide attempt. Cass intends to turn the girl’s life around, only it’s harder than she expects. All Casey’s troubles have now become Cass’s and someone wants her dead.

Saving Casey will be reduced from $5.99 to $2.99 for the duration of the tour (March 5th-April 11th) at Amazon, B&N, DP/Bono, ARe, Coffee Time Romance, BookStrand and Smashwords.

If I could pick one word to describe this book I would pick satisfying... because it truly is! The beginning is about an eighty year old woman who is diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. She then proceeds to take her own life on her own terms. But, the twist is that she ends up waking up in the body of a teenage girl who has also just taken her own life. Finding this as a place to start over, Cass decides to turn the girl's life around.

The story goes more into the detailing of Casey's intricate life and past grievances  This is a heartfelt story that was gripping from the very beginning. I just could not put it down! I would recommend this book to mature young adults because it does have some mature topics contained within. Overall though, I would say that I would have to give this story four owls because of just how touching it was and  how engrossed I was in the storyline.

Overall:



Excerpt:
Any chance you’d be willing to go to a different doctor to get another treatment on your face?”

“I really like Dr. Grey.”

“I know, but we can’t take the chance. You’d visit a doctor in Montana after office hours.”

“Does he have the equivalent experience and skills as Dr. Grey? Because I already have nightmares where I’m blind and irreparably scarred.”

“He won’t touch your eyes. He’ll just work on the cheeks.”

“And if I’m scarred, causing little children to scream at the sight of me, will you still love me?” She expected him to flounder with his response because it required him to actually admit he loved her, something he’d refused to do. To her shock, he replied at once.

“Absolutely.”

“No hesitation?”

“Nope.”

“So explain why you’ll love me without hesitation if I’m hideously scarred, but won’t even kiss me when I’m just ghoulishly tattooed?”

“Simple. Dan wouldn’t mind if I’m the only man in the world who still thinks you’re beautiful. But as long as millions of better alternatives exist, Dan would never forgive me for stealing your future.”

She hated it when he nailed the truth. If she were really seventeen, she would agree a hundred percent. Sighing heavily, she muttered, “I’ll see the doctor.”

“He’s not going to leave you scarred, Cass.”

“I hope not, but if he does, I’m holding you to your word.”

“You have it.”

She smiled at the turn of this conversation. “So you think I’m beautiful?”

“Inside and out,” he replied. “We need to change the conversation now.”

“Why? I like this conversation.”



I live in Denville, NJ with my dog, Jess. We hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, I learned to fly small cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. I’m an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through my entire life, my first love has and always will be writing novels. I love to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens.

SAVING CASEY BUY LINKS




Video links:



Liza links:






Liza will award a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Other random commenters at blog stops will receive: $5 Amazon GCs, tattoos like Casey’s, or offer to place tattoos like Casey’s on a jpg picture supplied by winner (the author will individually select the daily prize disbursement, and it will be indicated on her completed interview or blog post.  For review only/promo only stops, the daily prize will be the offer to place tattoos like Casey’s on a jpg picture supplied by winner).




Friday, March 22, 2013

Rapture [Review, Tour Stop, Giveaway]



Title: Rapture
Author: Phillip W Simpson

Release Date: 12/1/2011

Publisher: Pear Jam Books

ISBN: 9780473191634

Source: blog tour for honest review 


The Rapture has occurred - the end of the world. The faithful have risen up to Heaven.
Those left behind are in a living hell. Armed only with his swords and his wit, a teenage boy
wanders this post-apocalyptic world alone, separated forever from everyone he loves. Cursed
by his demonic heritage, he must now embark on a quest that will take him across the US to
the City of Angels.



I have always heard stories about the rapture and the coming of the days and have always wandered what if? I am not very into Christian novels, but I did not find myself bored with this one because I was so intrigued by the subject and the way it was played out through the characters in the novel. I was truly moved by the storyline and I found myself deeply engrossed in the world that Phillip Simpson creates.

The main character is plagued by the fact that he is left on Earth after the Rapture has taken place. He wants to be a good guy, but his birth lineage just does not make that easy for him. I enjoyed Sam's character because he was so real. I could relate to his feelings of redemption and the fact that he just wanted to be understood.

Overall, I would say that if you like those books that are apocalyptic to give this one a try. I don't think you'll regret it!

Overall:




Phillip W. Simpson is an author of mostly children's books - both fiction and non-fiction.
As well as being a writer, he is an elementary school teacher. Career highlights include being in the army, gaining a Masters in Archaeology, owning a comic shop, becoming obsessed with martial arts
and oriental weapons and turning down a job at the British museum.

His YA novel RAPTURE (the first in the Rapture trilogy) was released Sept 1st, 2011 by Pear Jam
books. RAPTURE is a dystopian/post-apocalyptic story about the end of the world featuring demons,
angels and a half demon protagonist caught in the middle. RAPTURE was shortlisted for the Sir Julius
Vogel award for best Youth novel.

Book 2, TRIBULATION, was released in December, 2012. The final book, APOCALYPSE, will be out
early 2013.

On a personal note, he is married to Rose, has a son (Jack) and two border terriers, Whiskey and
Raffles. He loves fishing, reading, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.


As soon as this thought entered his mind, it was interrupted by a demonic presence to his left. A cluster of Lemure surged out of what had once been the local coffee house, screaming as they advanced. Sam sprinted around a wrecked SUV to give himself some breathing room, drawing both swords.
He swung around to his left, still at full stretch. Whether by good luck or by displaying a higher than usual level of intelligence, three of the Lemure hadn’t fallen for the ploy. They met him on the other side of the SUV, running as hard as he was. Sam didn’t even pause. He struck high then low and spun around to deliver a double blow to the third Lemure. All three turned to ash in his wake.
He kept sprinting, skirting around the wrecks in the middle of Main Street, heading east. It was opposite to the direction he wanted to head in but he would double back later in order to confuse his pursuers.
Sensing that the demons were falling behind, Sam slowed to a fast jog. He could keep this pace up for hours if he needed to. Before the Rapture, he had often run into the Rockies and back before the sun had even snuck up over the horizon. Night-time was when he always trained, away from prying eyes. He always felt stronger in the dark. Hikari had told him that his night vision was much better than any other humans, something he had suspected when he realized he could see almost perfectly in all but the most absolute darkness.
It was just as well because now the only light came from the moon, which was hardly a great source of illumination. Normally, street lights, the frontages of residential homes, the odd shop open for a late night and the occasional car would provide ample light for the average resident. It was odd running through the small town like this, guided only by the malevolent red glow from above.
Disturbingly, despite his injuries, Sam felt even stronger right at that moment, almost as if the moon was energizing him. He looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of a star in the now cloudless sky. There were none. Had been none since the Rapture. The stars, once beautiful and sparkling in the clear country air, had all fallen. Where they had landed, Sam had no idea. He just knew that they weren’t in the sky anymore.
Suddenly a shadow fell across the moon, a strong wind buffeting him from above. He’d sensed the presence of the Astaroth but he was far, far too late. Too late and too slow. Cursing himself for his lack of concentration, Sam attempted to roll but felt something lift him off his feet with a powerful jolt. It was the Astaroth alright. Clearly, those wings weren’t for show, he thought wryly as the Astaroth slowly gained height. Luck had been on his side though. Instead of those mighty talons piercing his skin, they had merely jagged his backpack.
Then Sam remembered what were in his hands. What had been in his hands all the way down Main Street. His swords. He swept both up at the same time, each aiming for a different leg, and felt a savage surge of satisfaction as the iron weapons both connected and bit deeply. The Astaroth roared so loudly that, if Sam had been able to, he would’ve covered his ears.
Instead, he found himself falling. Surprisingly quickly. He thought, rather belatedly, that he hadn’t actually planned this out very carefully.
The ground rushed up to meet him.



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Thursday, March 21, 2013

Precious Things [Cover Reveal]


Precious Things
Release Date: May 2013
Cover Deisgned by: Allie Brennan of B Design 
Cover reveal organized by: YA Bound

Summary from Goodreads:
Isabelle Andrews isn’t supposed to be here. She isn’t supposed to be a freshman at Hartford Community College, she isn't supposed to be living at home and working at her dad’s failing bakery, and she definitely isn’t supposed to be taking Intro to Electronic Music Production, a class that will get her nowhere toward her goal of an English Ph.D. by age twenty-five. But when her dad’s latest business fiasco eats up her college fund, Hartford Community College is exactly where Isabelle finds herself—and thanks to her late enrollment, she doesn’t even get to choose her classes. Stuck with Electronic Music and way-too-easy English courses, Isabelle is determined to wallow in all the misery she feels entitled to.


But community college brings some unexpected benefits…like the fact that a certain overworked, over-scheduled Electronic Music professor hands over most of his duties to his teaching assistant. His tall, green-eyed, absolutely gorgeous teaching assistant. When TA Evan Strauss discovers Isabelle’s apathy toward electronic music—and, well, all music—he makes it his mission to convert her. The music Evan composes stirs something inside Isabelle, but she can’t get involved—after all, she’ll be transferring out as soon as possible. 

Still, no matter how tightly Isabelle holds on to her misery, she finds it slipping away in the wake of all Hartford Community offers: new friendships, a surprisingly cool poetry professor, and most of all, Evan. But Evan’s dream of owning his own music studio is as impractical as Isabelle’s dad’s bakery, and when Evan makes a terrible decision, everything Isabelle has gained threatens to unravel. Soon Isabelle discovers that some of the most important lessons take place outside the classroom…and that in life, as in Evan’s favorite Depeche Mode song, the most precious things can be the hardest to hold on to.



Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.
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