Blog Tour: Alice in Everville + Giveaway!
// By Jessica 2 Comments
1 Mar
2013

Blog Tour: Alice in Everville + Giveaway!

AIE blog tour button-1

I’m so glad to have S.C. Langgle on my blog today as part of the Alive in Everville Blog Tour run by my good friend Jennifer at My Life With Books.

In Praise of Short Books by S.C. Langgle

You don’t have to look any further than two of the most popular book series in the world, Harry Potter and Twilight, to notice one of the past decade’s major trends in novels for younger readers: books for these age groups are getting longer.  Like, doorstopper long.  When Stephenie Meyer first queried Twilight, many agents told her that at over 100,000 words, the novel was too long for a young adult debut.  Well, we all know how that affected (or, rather, didn’t affect) her success!  And while the first Harry Potter book is a little under 80,000 words, the increasingly longer length of the following books certainly didn’t deter readers!  And once publishers saw that readers were not only willing, but eager to devour longer books, authors weren’t encouraged to cut down or break apart their longer stories as often.  As a result, many young adult books of well over 300 pages are now being published, whereas the average YA book of the 80s and 90s was more likely to be somewhere between 100 and 300 pages.

Is this a bad thing?  Absolutely not!  It’s great that so many young people are reading and aren’t daunted by big books.  However, I can’t help thinking back to my favorite books when I was an actual teenager (the 90s), and how much shorter they were.  And thanks to a really cool website called Renaissance Learning (www.renlearn.com), I can give you exact word counts to prove my point!  As a teenager, my favorite author was Francesca Lia Block, particularly her series called Dangerous Angels about a dark, magical version of Los Angeles.  The first book in this series, Weetzie Bat, published in 1989, is only 15,000 words!  And the final book in the series, Baby Be-Bop, which I have a very vivid memory of reading in one highly emotional sitting, is 22,900 words.  Another writer I love who specializes in short YA is Kathe Koja; my favorite of her novels, The Blue Mirror, is 27,000 words.  And another favorite from my teen years is M.E. Kerr, particularly Deliver Us from Evie, which is about 34,000 words.

In fact, looking back at my reading over the years, I’m struck by how many of my favorite books were quite short, especially when I was a teenager.  I think this is partly because even though I love to read, I am a slow reader, and I like to take my time and absorb things.  Shorter books were (and still are) the only ones I could really read in a sitting, and somehow that experience of sitting down and going through a journey with characters you care about, all in the span of just a few hours, intensifies the emotional resonance of the book for me.  I also appreciate that I can read shorter books multiple times and take the time to tease out all the different layers of meaning.  Finally, I think many short books (the good ones, anyway) can be even more powerful because of what remains unsaid, because of the spaces left for the reader to fill in herself, and because each thought or scene that is included takes on a greater importance.

Of course, I love many longer books as well, and this post is not meant to bash long books at all!  I believe that great books come in many different lengths, and that each story will take as long as it needs to take to be told.  However, I do think that in the post-Twilight and Harry Potter era, less of these short, emotionally rather than plot-focused books are published, and those that are sometimes don’t get the attention they deserve.  I think that especially for today’s teenagers—and really, everyone in our busy, distraction-filled world—these shorter books can serve a valuable purpose and can offer something to return to again and again.  Personally, I still reread the Weetzie Bat books almost every year!

So what does this post have to do with my writing?  Well, as you may have guessed, Alice in Everville is a short book.  It takes place entirely over one day, and a few parts of the story are conveyed through poems and song lyrics, which lowers the word count a bit.  So how long is it, exactly?  I will tell you it’s longer than most of the books in the Dangerous Angels series.  But whether it’s the right length for the story it tells?  Well, you’ll just have to read it and decide for yourself!

Book Cover of Alice in Everville by S. C. Langgle

Book Synopsis

 A poem can seem like a labyrinth, a maze of words you can lose yourself in.  The key is to find a thread to hold on to, to guide you in your reading, to lead you into and out of a labyrinth of words… 

   Alice Little thinks she’s read every word the world-famous poet Sylvie Plate published before her untimely death…until she discovers a coded message hidden in Sylvie’s final collection of poems–a message that may explain the poet’s mysterious demise.  

 All she has to do is decipher the code and she knows she can convince her beloved English teacher, Miss A, that Sylvie’s message is real. Unfortunately, she only has one manic day at Everville Mall to do it. And between keeping track of her fountain-splashing, havoc-wreaking sister, finding a new copy of Sylvie’s poems, and…oh yeah…dealing with the blue-eyed, guitar-playing, majorly swoon-worthy Jaden Briar, who keeps popping up everywhere she goes, Alice wonders if she will ever finish deciphering in time.

 

amazon | goodreads

Blog Tour Stops

February 27 – Jennifer @ My Life With Books www.jenkjovus.com

February 28 – Misty @ The Book Rat www.thebookrat.com

March 1 – Jessica @ Books: A true story www.booksatruestory.com

March 4 – Kathy @ I Am A Reader Not A Writer www.iamareader.com

March 5 – Penelope @ The Reading Fever www.thereadingfever.com

March 6 – Jamie @ Writers, Write, Right? www.jmanni32.blogspot.com

March 7 – Alexis @ The Book Hideaway www.thereadinghideaway.com

March 8 – Haley @ Life and Lies www.haleymathiot.blogspot.com

March 11 – Michelle @ Book Briefs www.bookbriefs.blogspot.com

March 12 – Author post @ www.sclanggle.blogspot.com

Giveaway

Author S.C. Langgle is giving away a $20 dollar Amazon gift card (International), 2 Alice in Everville ARC’s (US only), 2 finished copies of Alice in Everville and 2 ebooks of Alice in Everville (International). Enter with the Rafflecopter below!

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About S.C. Langgle

S.C. Langgle is a lifelong lover of words and stories who has never outgrown her preference for children’s and young adult literature. A graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California, S.C. is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She currently lives in Hollywood, California, only a block from Marilyn Monroe’s handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, though she spends more time at home with her computer than mingling with celebrities. Luckily, she has her two adorable dogs—a Chihuahua, Chin-Mae, and a maltipoo, Sasha—to keep her company, and she’d choose them over a gaggle of Hollywood stars any day.

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Posted on: March 1, 2013 1:00 am By Jessica Filed Under: Blog Tour Tagged With: 2 Comments
Blog Tour: The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova + Giveaway!
// By Jessica 2 Comments
20 Apr
2012

Blog Tour: The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova + Giveaway!
Book Cover for The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

Welcome to my stop on the Bloggers of the Deep blog tour for The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova!

Synopsis: For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

Character Interview

I was lucky enough to ask Tristan Hart a few questions to get to know him a little better. :)

Me: Tristan, Describe yourself in three words.

Tristan: Just three? Let me see. I’d go with: Athletic, but that’s obvious. I’m generous. Sometimes there’s too much love to give you, you know? I’m also caring. I’d do anything for my family and friends.

Me: I think one of the best ways to get to know someone is through their tastes in music. What’s your favorite band or song?

Tristan: My favorite song right now is Move Your Body by My Darkest Days. Really gets me pumped before a meet.

Me: So….tell us about your girlfriend. :) What do you like the most about her?

Tristan: Uhh, I don’t have a girlfriend right now. There’s this girl. Layla. She’s been my best friend since forever. She’s the bravest, prettiest, chillest girl I know.

Me: What’s your favorite food?

Tristan: Bacon cheese burger with all the trimmings. Also mahi-mahi tacos.

Me: If you could have any actor play you in a movie, who would it be and why?

Tristan: I’ve never thought about that. It’s a little weird thinking of someone else being me. Chris Pine is pretty cool. And by that I mean, Layla finds him “hot” or whatever. So why not?

Image Source: IMDB

Me: What’s your favorite thing about being a lifeguard? Why did you decide to become a lifeguard?

Tristan: My coach put me up for the job. He told me it’d keep my eye sharp, concentrating on doing something good. I’m at the beach all summer and I’d rather be at the Coney Island post than at the Y. At first I was afraid of the responsibility. I can swim fast as hell, but saving lives? That’s heavy.

Me: What’s your favorite thing to do at Coney Island?

Tristan: Bake, swim, corndogs, repeat.

Me: What kind of movies do you like? (If you have any specifics that would be awesome!)

Tristan: I like comedy and movies with big explosions and guns. Ironman, The Dark Knight, anything with Bruce Willis. The two movies I never get tired of are American Pie and Men in Black. Don’t you laugh at me. I’m being serious!

Me: Thanks so much for stopping by Tristan!  I agree than Men in Black is one of the few movies that you can watch on repeat :)  And can I just say that you sound like an awesome guy and I can’t wait to read more about you (not that there’s a book out about you or anything….:)

Check out the other blogs on the tour! 

amazon | goodreads | book depository

Giveaway

I have some fun swag for a lucky winner and it’s international too! You can win some stickers and a pin.

Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova Swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Zoraida Cordova

Zoraida Cordova

Zoraida Córdova was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she learned to speak English by watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker on repeat. Her favorite things are sparkly like merdudes, Christmas, and New York City at night.

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Posted on: April 20, 2012 1:48 am By Jessica Filed Under: Blog Tour Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments
Blog Tour: Return to Exile by E.J. Patten + GIVEAWAY
// By Jessica 2 Comments
5 Apr
2012

Blog Tour: Return to Exile by E.J. Patten + GIVEAWAY

Blog Tour for Return to Exile by E.J. Patten

Welcome to my stop on the Return to Exile Blog Tour! I’ve got a fun interview with the author, E.J. Patten, for you and a giveaway!  There are over 30 blogs on this tour so be sure to check out the schedule to see the other great extras and giveaways!

Author Interview

Book Cover of Return to Exile by E.J. Patten and Author PhotoMe: Tweet your book. Tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

E.J.: Sky, a boy with a dark past, teams up with other misfits to find his uncle, hunt epic monsters, and stay alive using gear made of garbage.

Me: Ha ha! That made me laugh. Well done getting all that in 140 characters!  So, what books inspired or influenced your writing of Return to Exile?

E.J.: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson have both been major sources of inspiration for me—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in particular. It wasn’t my favorite Harry Potter book (Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite), but it affected my writing the most. I love the way Rowlings forced Harry, Ron, and Hermione to wander, confused and lost, depending only on each other, with no clear way through until they chose it. She gave them lots of options, muddied the waters, and wove a tale that more closely resembles the complex world we all face. It’s a much harder and far less common way to tell a story, especially in speculative fiction where characters are often given a quest with a difficult yet obvious path to the end.

I also channeled a bit a Tolkien—mainly in the complexity of the world and the back-story—and H.P. Lovecraft, with his original monsters and mythos. Return to Exile is set in the modern world, but it taps into a secret history, a silent war waged between the Hunters of Legend and the creatures they hunt—creatures that are entirely of my own invention. Things like the giant tree-like Echo whose roots go deep, deep beneath the earth where they join together in a haunting sort of collective dreaming, and the shape-shifting child-eating Wargarous with their tusked, mammoth-sized bodies of shadow and whips of flame that writhe like worms.

Me: I love it when authors invent new creatures! They are so fun to read about.  How did you get the idea for Return to Exile?

I stared into the void and, shrieking, stumbled back. Also, I have no idea. Magic, maybe?

Originally, the story started out as something completely different. It was a light-hearted adventure about a group of friends that get the powers of their Halloween costumes and save Halloween. Return to Exile is NOTHING like that. It went from a light-hearted adventure to an epic story with complex characters, tragic monsters, and a deep history of an unknown world within our own. The only thing that remains from that early version—which I actually wrote as a screenplay, not a book—is the name Sky Weathers.

Between the first draft of the book, which helped me get an agent, and second draft of the book, which we sold to Simon & Schuster, I rewrote Return to Exile in its entirety. I kept the first paragraph and a few character names. I figured out a better way to write, a character-driven approach to plot development.

To help me build out the characters, I drew from a number of fairytales so that I could work in specific themes. Sky’s story was based on Hansel and Gretel, on the trail of breadcrumbs. Crystal was Pinocchio, a broken girl full of lies. Andrew was based on Cinderella. In fact, his step-sisters (step-cousins, really) are named after Cinderella’s step-sisters, Jasmine and Ermine, and they speak like characters from a Jane Austen novel. Hands’s story came from Little Red Riding Hood. He has issues with his parents who sent his grandfather to a nursing home, a place “run by wolves.” Finally, T-Bone, the last of the monster hunters, is based on the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe. He comes from a huge family (both in number and size) and seldom gets any attention.

As I developed the characters, and the story, these fairytale beginnings disappeared into the background. They’re hardly there at all anymore, though a few vestiges remain if you look closely. The fairytales helped me get a sense of the characters, and once I had that sense, I made them into something more.

Return to Exile is a modern-day epic fantasy adventure like nothing you’ve ever read before. The story is designed like a trap. I wrote it in such a way that you won’t realize how much you missed until you’re snared at the end, and then you’ll say “now wait a minute…” and you’ll want to go back and read it again—and you should. I wrote it that way on purpose. The first time through, you’ll go on a wild ride. The second time through, you’ll understand the journey. Because there isn’t a single idea behind Return to Exile; there are hundreds of ideas.

I loved that you took fairy tale characters and made them your own!  I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I’m really excited to get to know these characters and get hooked by the ending. Aren’t you? And be sure to check out the awesome book trailer.

amazon  |  the king’s english (signed/personalized)

goodreads  |  barnes and noble

And did you know that the cover artwork and illustrations in the book are from Caldacott honoree artist John Rocco, who is also the illustrator for the Percy Jackson series? :D

Giveaway

I’m giving away a Mother-Daughter Hunter’s Bracelet.

Hunter's Bracelet from Return to Exile by E.J. Patten

Bracelets when separate

Hunter's Bracelet from Return to Exile by E.J. Patten

Bracelets when linked

This isn’t just any bracelet. In Return to Exile, Crystal—the leader of the monster hunters—wears a bracelet that resembles a strand of DNA. The bracelet is a twin to one worn by her mother, who disappeared years earlier. While striving to stay alive within the terrible creature known as the Jack, Crystal recovers her mother’s bracelet and links the two strands together into a single band—a memento of the mother she lost.

Isn’t that cool? Read this blog post to learn more about this bracelet.

If you are reading this post through RSS or email, head over to my blog to enter the giveaway.


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About E.J. Patten

E. J. Patten

In April 1974, a beautiful baby boy was born at a small hospital in Mesa, Arizona. E. J. Patten (“Eric James”) was in the next crib over. The first story he ever wrote involved a strange ad, a Laundromat, and a bowl of chili; thankfully, it was never published. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts, and a Masters in Business Administration from Brigham Young University. He currently resides with his wife and three children in Utah.

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Posted on: April 5, 2012 1:36 am By Jessica Filed Under: Author Interview Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments