Thursday, September 30, 2010

Lauren Kate!

Lauren Kate came to Kepler’s yesterday much to our delight. Three fans showed up two hours early and had traveled quite far (one was celebrating her birthday - how awesome is that?). The audience all wore the halos we made(see photo) so you could look out over the audience and watch a sea of golden halos, which seemed to delight the audience and author.

Lauren grew up in Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started writing in New York. Her experience of the “Old South” in the Atlanta area inspired her to set Fallen in a Civil War era academy. Pushing vampires aside from their spotlight, Lauren Kate’s romantic hero sports a halo. The world she created at Swords and Cross is both eerie and frightening, especially the scenes in the cemetery. Her themes are rooted in theology although Lauren certainly plays around with the idea of what an angel is supposed to be. Rich with mythology, romance, twists, suspense, and action these books have everything - and have gorgeous covers. Oh, and she used to live in Winters (near Davis) which is why she chose to set much of Torment in that area.

Lauren told her eager audience that she intended to write a trilogy but now plans to write four books about Luce and Daniel. The third book will be a prequel, and apparently she has sold the rights to Mayhem (who are owned by Disney).

Her advice to upcoming young writers: stay curious and use everything around you as potential events for your books, FINISH, find writing friends, a writing group, or a trusted and respected reader, and don’t give up.

Lauren was charming and gracious, posed for photos with almost everyone in line, and signed all our back stock. It was a lovely event. We hope she comes back soon.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Signed Darkest Mercy Book Marks Giveaway

We just hosted the Smart Chicks as you know. And they were fabulous. And I have some DARKEST MERCY book marks to give away - signed by Melissa Marr!

All you have to do is comment below. (And don't forget to add your email address so I can get in touch if you win.)

+1 if you are already a follower
+2 if you become a follower
+3 if you blog or twitter about this giveaway.

GO!

I Am Number 4 Movie Trailer

I LOVED LOVED LOVED the book and I just stumbled onto the movie trailer, which looks wonderful. Check it out by clicking here. (Sorry couldn't seem to embed it.)
It will be released in February and stars Alex Pettyfer, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand and Timothy Olyphant.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Haven't done this for ages but Lauren Kate will be here tomorrow so I'm a bit obsessed (surprise!). This meme originated with MizB of Should Be Reading and anyone can play along. Just do the following:

-Grab your current read.
-Open to a random page.
-Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others.)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

So, of course, the teaser is from Torment by Lauren Kate

Again she felt the unfairness of her situation: Daniel had all these great memories of them together to fall back on when things got rough. She had nothing.
Until she looked up at her roomate.
"Shelby?"
Shelby had her puffy red hood pulled over her head and was poking a stick into the wet sand. "I told you I don't want to talk about him."
"I know. I was wondering, remember when you mentioned that you knew how to glimpse your past lives?"...
"I never said that. (p.166)


Remember, tomorrow, september 29, at 7.00 at kepler's Books in Menlo Park. Come and hear Lauren Kate talk about Torment, the fabulous sequel to Fallen

Monday, September 27, 2010

Forever

Did you see that Maggie Stiefvater, one of my very favorite YA writers has revealed the cover of her sequel to Shiver and Linger. And isn't it fabulous? AND she's hosting a contest to celebrate. Go to her blog and you can find all about it (click here to get to the blog).

JK Rowling on Oprah October 1

sorry - busy week - but did you hear?

J.K. ROWLING TO MAKE HER FIRST APPEARANCE ON "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW," FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2010

Can't wait!

In a wide-ranging interview that took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, Rowling speaks candidly with Winfrey about her life and career as well as her journey to becoming one of the most recognizable writers of children’s literature today. Rowling, who rarely does interviews, also shares her thoughts on the possibility of ever writing another Harry Potter book in the future.

J.K. Rowling is the first self-made billionaire author in history. The series of books she created about a young wizard with a lightning bolt scar have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide and are currently available in 69 languages and 200 countries. While talking with Winfrey about the sudden success of the Harry Potter books, Rowling reveals the moment when she knew that her life had changed forever. It was while in the United States on her second book tour: “There was this enormous Barnes & Noble, and I thought, oh my God. And the queue snaked up the street, up the Barnes & Noble, up through four floors and they took me in the back entrance. They opened the door and they screamed. They screamed…. That’s a real stand-out moment for me. I knew it was getting big in that there was press attention and so on, but at that point, that for me...was when it felt 'Beatle-esque.'”

Rowling also reveals to Winfrey that coping with the pressures of sudden stardom was not easy: “You ask about the pressure. At that point, I kept saying to people, yeah I’m coping…but the truth was there were times when I was barely hanging on by a thread.”

Monday, September 20, 2010

Banning Speak - Really?

I read something today that really disturbed me. Wesley Scroggins of Missouri State University (a speaker at Reclaiming Missouri for Christ) wrote an opinion piece in the News-Leader of Springfield, MO, in which he characterized SPEAK as filthy and immoral. Then he called it “soft pornography” because of two rape scenes.

I simply find it hard to believe that any educator (or anyone at all for that matter) could possibly claim that rape is synonymous with pornography. Makes me shudder just to think about it.

We're talking about Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a book I think all teenagers should read, a book that has inspired so many, and helped so many more. It's a book that helps students, teachers, and parents discuss a topic like rape and not ignore it - because ignoring it simply will not make it go away. It teaches people to speak out.

Can Mr Scroggins really have read Speak? So many speak out against books they only hear about. Almost worse if he has read it because there is no way you can find those scenes in Speak arousing. But once again someone is putting a fine writer on the defensive (just like Ellen Hopkins last month when she was uninvited to speak to teens).

In this run up to banned book week, we are again reminded why we have to fight censorship and stand up for our intellectual freedoms. So if you haven't already read Speak, do so. It is a wonderful book that should be read by all.

And if you want to read more about this, click here to read Laurie's own account.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Lisa Brown

I've talked about Lisa Brown, her visit, and posted a review of Picture the Dead. Now let Lisa tell you about her book. And don't you just love her hat?



Smart Chicks photos and video tomorrow. Promise.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Great Article about the Smart Chicks

Had to repost this great article from InMenlo magazine about our Smart Chicks event tomorrow (which I am just so excited about - you're going if you live in the area - right?). If you are there, come and introduce yourself to me. I'm hosting so I'll be easy to find.

The article is titled, Smart Chicks Kick It in Menlo Park: Unique book tour brings hottest names in young adult fiction to town Saturday

Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, and Alyson Noël are headlining a book tour like none we’ve ever seen — and that’s saying something here, in Kepler’s backyard, where locals regularly get a chance to attend special book-related events and see the most in-demand authors. But what’s different about their Smart Chicks Kick It tour, which takes place Saturday evening at the Menlo Park Library, is that it’s completely author-driven (and funded).

Think about that for a minute: No publishing houses, no promotional budgets — and no one dictating the rules. The tour will hit 12 cities in 14 days and feature 18 marquee writers who currently dominate paranormal romance, the hot literary genre that includes the Twilight franchise....

What fans can expect

Given the all-star line-up, those planning on attending Saturday’s event at 6:00 pm should prepare to do some waiting before they can meet their favorite authors. To make the time pass more quickly, the authors are bringing plenty of give-away items. One of the most coveted, though, can’t be taken home just yet: The chance to have a character named after you in a forthcoming anthology that features many of the Smart Chicks.

To read more click here

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Review

Scarlet and Rosie March are different from other girls. They know that werewolves (or Fenris) exist. They know that werewolves (or Fenris) exist. They know this because a werewolf killed their grandmother and attacked Scarlet as she shielded her sister, taking an eye and leaving her scarred. The girls spend their lives hunting the Fenris with their friend Silas (a woodman of course), killing as many as they can to avenge their grandmother and to save young girls from attack. But to find the alpha they need to find the “potential” and it’s here that the plot thickens, especially as Rosie and Silas start to fall in love.

Sisters Red is told from each sister’s perspective so we see all sides of their struggle, their love for each other, their fights, and the blossoming romance. This is at once an all action gory tale of tough girls and bloody battles, and yet it’s also a tale of sisterly bonds, friendship, and first love. It’s not your mother’s Little Red Riding Hood but if you like your fairy tales updated and twisted then this is the book for you.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Smart Chicks T-shirts

Does it seem like I'm a little obsessed? Well, I am. The Smart Chicks will be here on Saturday and today we received awesome t-shirts to add to our already fantastic raffle prizes.

And now I have a bad case of the gimmies.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Smart Chicks poster

Going to a Smart Chicks event? Download and print a small poster that all the authors can sign. Just click here

You can also download bookmarks and t-shirt templates.

So what are you waiting for?

Keys to the Repository

I'm super excited about the Smart Chicks event this saturday so today want to highlight one of the Smart Chicks: Melissa de la Cruz.

Below I've posted video of Melissa talking about her newest book in the Blue Bloods series, Keys to the Repository.



Just can't wait to meet all the Smart Chicks authors. And if you hadn't realized, it's at the Menlo Park Library, it's free, and open to all.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

In My Mailbox

Can it really be sunday again? Wow the week went quickly. Happy new year to anyone who celebrates the Jewish new year. I finished Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (loved it - will post a review this week) and mislaid my copy of Hold Me Closer Necromancer (which just kills me because now I'll have to wait for its publication date!). And here are the books I got this week. Again with thanks to the Story Siren for hosting this meme.

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single girl of high standing at Longbourne Academy must be in want of a prom date

After winter break, the girls at Longbourn Academy are suddenly obsessed with the prom, which they share with the all-boys Pemberly school. Lizzie Bennett, who attends Longbourn on scholarship, isn't exactly interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London. Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance, but less than impressed by Will Darcy, Charles's friend, who's as snobby and pretentious as his friend is nice. He doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. It doesn't help that Charles doesn't seem to be asking Jane to be his prom date, or that Lizzie meets George Wickham, who tells her that Will Darcy sabotaged his scholarship at Pemberly. So imagine Lizzie's surprise when he asks her to the prom! Will Lizzie's prejudice and Will's pride keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making?

Could be very good.

Vampire Crush by AM Robinson

First, six mysteriously pale new students show up at Sophie McGee’s high school. Then, Sophie’s childhood nemesis James reappears, still displaying a knack for making Sophie’s blood boil. When Sophie finds out that James has a connection to the new students, she decides to investigate...never expecting her life will quickly begin to resemble a campy horror movie, complete with budding crushes and bloodthirsty villains.

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

When Ellie Faneuil first sees Michael Chase she feels an instantaneous connection. But she does not realize how much they have in common, including the ability fly and to see what others are thinking - not to mention a taste for blood. Reveling in their new powers and their growing feelings for each other, Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way ... together.
But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict between fallen angels that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once. While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

WOW. Good week. How was yours?

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Megan LOVES this series and I can't wait to read this, especially having read her fabulous review.

This is the third and final book of the Chaos Walking trilogy, which begins with the absolutely stunning The Knife of Never Letting Go (and if you haven't read that, you're missing out on one of the most thrilling books I've read in the past few years). It picks up the cruelly tantalizing cliff hanger of the second book and immediately plunges into the tightly wound stories of Todd and Viola, who are in the middle of a bloody, terrible war that could destroy the entire world. Their world is a strange one - people hear each other's thoughts, enemies are sometimes their only hope, colonists are arriving from outer space - and Todd and Viola must struggle together to save it.

I can't recommend this series highly enough. It is addictive and brilliant. You will find yourself disappearing into its pages. If you liked The Hunger Games, you really need to try this.

Q and A with Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr, 2 very smart chicks

Si;; talking about the Smart Chicks tour because I am so excited about it. Below,
Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr, two authors participating in the
Smart Chicks Kick It Tour, give a behind-the-scenes look at the unique concept behind the tour, how and why it was developed and what fans have to look forward to at our event.

What makes the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour different than other tours that feature multiple authors at one venue?

Melissa: This tour is definitely one-of-a-kind! We are author-organized AND author-funded with an ambitious schedule -- 12 cities in 14 days. Another unique component is that the 18 participating authors come from a wide variety of different publishers. Additionally, the author line-up at each city is different, and the authors on the tour are a combination of bestsellers, award-winners, and up-and-comers. They are all authors that Kelley and I personally chose (although there are a lot more authors we wanted to include but we are already twice the size we planned!).

Kelley: Most importantly, these are all authors who write “kick ass” protagonists—and in our opinion, a lot of the authors we invited are pretty kick ass too. A couple of them have reached out to set up visits to juvenile detention facilities in tour cities; they are reaching out to readers; and they are rolling up their sleeves to make this potentially unwieldy tour of ours run smoothly.

How did you come up with the name for the tour?

Melissa: During the preliminary planning in August 2009, I sent an email to Kelley & Alyson Noel that (among other things) said, “We need a name.” Kelley pulled our ideas together and suggested “Smart Chicks Kick It” because, as she succinctly summarized, we were focusing on books about “Strong heroines, smart heroines, capable heroines...real girls with real strengths, not necessarily out there kicking butt, but able to handle themselves in tough situations.”

Putting together a twelve city tour with 19 different authors must be quite challenging. How have you managed it all?

Melissa: I like organizing things—to the point that as a result of the fun of setting up the tour, I recently volunteered to run the Young Adult track for RT Booklovers Convention in 2011. To me, this is fun.

It looked complicated (and has been), but I enjoy it. Fortunately, Kelley is also very organized, and we have many great volunteers.

Kelley: Yes, this has really been a grass-roots effort and it’s been great how several Smart Chicks have lent their expertise to the planning and execution of this tour. For example, participating authors Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a PhD student at Yale, so she’s our “gridmaster,” creating numerous spreadsheets to help keep track of everyone. Rachel Caine is a graphics professional, so she designed one of our tee-shirts and web icons (Melissa’s husband was even roped into doing some graphic work too). Sarah Rees Brennan is a frightfully clever young woman, so she’s written some great blogs that are both fun and smart. We have a lot of volunteers, and to be sure we didn’t miss any essentials, we collectively pooled our funds and hired Media Masters Publicity, a literary public relations firm, to help us.

What can fans expect when they attend a Smart Chicks Kick It event?

Melissa: At each event, fans will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the authors and get their books signed by all of the Smart Chicks. We love to get our pictures taken with our fans – but since we might be sharing a few “spoilers” we don’t allow video. We don’t want our spoilering caught on tape!

Kelley: We’re looking forward to having fun and interacting with our fans. There will also be tons of give-aways, including swag baskets, at each stop that features books from ALL 18 Smart Chicks, tote bags, audio books, bracelets and necklaces and lots of other cool stuff!

What has been the response from fans and booksellers?


Melissa: Amazing! We wanted this to be not just “our way” but “their way,” so our first step was a Facebook page where we solicited city and store suggestions from our fans. Once we came up with our wish list the booksellers eagerly jumped on board. From there, we also spoke to a couple of librarians because we want to include both stores and libraries in our plans. Honestly, the response has been so positive that we went from our initial plan of 6 cities to twice that. We’ve had to draw a line somewhere, but the support has been so strong that we are already getting requests for a Smart Chicks 2.0.

Readers, of course, were a very vocal part of the initial conversations, and their support and enthusiasm for this tour has been there every step of the way.

All of the authors on tour write books categorized as “young adult novels” but many of your fans are adults. Are you surprised by this?

Melissa: For the decade or so before I wrote, I taught university, but I still read picture books. Story transcends form and age, and as my inbox and solo touring experiences make clear, a lot of adults read so-called “young adult” books. I think JK Rowling went a long way to reminding readers that books featuring younger protagonists were accessible to adults too. Moreover, a lot of paranormal texts derive from myth, folklore, and fairy tales. Today, those are wrongly thought of as “children’s” texts, but in the original versions, they were far from child-focused. It’s no wonder then that these texts are resonating for adults.

Kelley: I’ve been writing “adult” urban fantasy for years, and those readers also cross all age boundaries from teen to retirement age. I’m not surprised to see the same thing with my YA novels. If a reader is willing to spend a few hours enjoying the story of a werewolf, he/she isn’t going to have much trouble reading about characters in another age group!

You two will be with 16 other woman for almost two weeks – do you think you will all have a special bond with each other after this experience?


Melissa: I’ll confess that I already knew a number of these women. I’ve read all of their books, blogs, and in many cases have shared panels with them at conferences, so I’m optimistic that the tour will add to my already positive regard for them. Likewise, others on the tour know each other already. I think the writing community already provides a close connection for a lot of us, and I’m counting on that to give us the strength to succeed at the tour . . . and collaborate to find ample morning coffee.

Kelley: I’m a little more isolated from the community than Melissa, both because I come from the adult side and because living in Canada has limited my chances to meet fellow writers in person. But while I only know some of our “Chicks” personally, I’m familiar with all their work and looking forward to meeting the rest.

Can I still “follow” your tour if I’m not located near a city where you will be?

Melissa: Absolutely. We’ll be tweeting, Facbooking and blogging while on the road, sharing the good (the events), the bad (the grueling travel) and the ugly (a bunch of night owls trying to locate coffee before an early morning interview!).

Kelley: We’ll also be bringing a photographer along for the ride so we can visually chronicle this adventure and share our trip with our fans.

Are there plans for a Smart Chicks tour in 2011?

Melissa: Tentatively, Kelley and I are looking at a smaller 2.0 tour with a different line-up, bringing in a lot of non-paranormal YA writers and some of the paranormal YA writers who couldn’t make this tour. In my rather optimistic way, I’d love to do a few big “reunion” events with this line-up too. I haven’t exactly mentioned that to the authors on tour yet, though, so we’ll see where we end up on that topic.

Don't miss the Smart Chicks on September 18th at 6.00 at the Menlo Park Library.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Smart Chicks Raffle

We are just so excited about the Smart Chicks tour stopping in Menlo Park on September 18th. So many authors we love all in one place.

And it just got better

We have a raffle!

Buy a book by one of the Smart Chicks authors to enter the raffle. You can win one of three grand prizes :

Basket
Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
Shade by Jeri Smith Ready
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
The Marganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

Body Finder Tote

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
White Cat by Holly Black
Seeing Red by Jackson Pearce
Keys to the Repository bu Melissa de la Cruz
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Radiance by Alyson Noel

Dark Flame Tote
Dark Flame by Alyson Noel
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

We also have bookmarks, pins, bracelets, necklaces, posters, stickers, and signed book plates!

As I said, CAN'T WAIT!

The Limit by Kristen Landon - Review


My colleague, Elizabeth, LOVED this book so I'm posting her review below. Sounds so good...

Can you imagine being put into a workhouse because your parents have gone too far into debt? That's what happens in The Limit. Matt is taken from his home, forced into a workhouse, and given tests to determine his future. Fortunately, he scores well and is placed on the "Top Level" where life is pleasant. He hears rumors that kids on other floors have headaches - or worse - seizures. This doesn't bother Matt too much, until he realizes that his sister has been taken and is working on floor where many, many kids are having seizures.

This dystopian adventure is smart and sophisticated. Matt is a realistic hero who deals with anger and bitterness when he realizes that his parents got him into this mess. He deals with the fact that life in the workhouse is more pleasant than life at home, and yet he is unable to leave. What is the definition of a prison? This book is a clever twist on the economic crises of today. I couldn't put it down.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

In My Mailbox

Yay - Time to talk about the books I got this week. Again with thanks to the Story Siren for hosting this meme. And I always love to talk about the books I get during the week. Especially this week - look at these books!

1. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

This came very very highly recommended so it's right up at the top of my reading pile. (Thank you Sharon.)

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right — until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

2. Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Think you know paranormal romance? Alex Flinn gives the genre a twist in this modern fairy-tale mash-up! Johnny’s not your average hero. But a little magic changes everything. There isn’t a fairy godmother or any of that. It all starts with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess. And before Johnny knows it, he is on a mission in the Evergladws, with only a flock of swans and a talking fox named Joe to help guide him against the forces of an evil witch.

And I loved Beastly.

3. The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

I LOVED The Dark Divine and this is the sequel. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her become a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Great week for me - what about you?

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Lisa Brown

Friday evening we hosted LISA BROWN who is the author and illustrator of a growing number of picture books including How to Be, and Sometimes. She also publishes a bi-monthly illustrated book review in the San Francisco Chronicle. And is married to Lemony Snicket.

She came in Victorian corsetry and an amazing hat to talk about Picture the Dead, a Civil War-era ghost story written in collaboration with Adele Griffin that is filled with Lisa’s illustrations of daguerreotypes, family portraits, and clues. To see our review click here.

To set the scene we dimmed the lights and lit candles (see photo). Lisa was charming and informative as she talked through her slide show of old photos and the ideas behind the book. Apparently almost every character has a real-life 19th century counterpart, unearthed from the archives of the Library of Congress. She talked about how strained people looked in old photographs, thinking it was just really, really hard to live a life back then (instead of the photographic process). Exposure time for these early photos was VERY long; so you could be asked to sit for twenty minutes in blinding sunlight. Folks’ sit-perfectly-still times were shortened to thirty seconds by the time the book is set, which is manageable but not comfortable. No wonder they looked strained. And during the 1860s, some photographers claimed that they could photograph the spirits of the dead. I really enjoyed the slide show, as did the audience. If you get a chance to hear her speak, GO.

And to find our more about Lisa and Picture the Dead click here.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Alyson Noel

So I've talked about the Smart Chicks tour over and over. September 18th. Menlo Park Library. Kelley Armstrong, Melissa de la Cruz, Kimberly Derting, Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl , Melissa Marr, and Alyson Noel. Amazing line up. With big raffle prizes too. Can't wait.

So today I thought I'd highlight Alyson Noel's new book, Radiance.



Looks good. And then of course I thought I'd add the book trailer for the Immortals series too.



So join us. And yes, I'll be highlighting all the smart chicks over the next few weeks.