Kick Ass Women Take Over!

I'm loving all the excitement for The Hunger Games movie, not only because the books are fabulous, but also because they feature Katniss - a young woman who is courageous, independent, and not afraid to fight for her family (not to mention her life!)

I love reading about heroines who kick ass without apology, so I'm seriously thrilled about Heather Brewer's new series: The Legacy of Tril. The first book, SOULBOUND, which I was lucky enough to read, will be in stores July 5. Girl + katana + fabulous world building = amazing book!

You are lucky because I'm hosting a contest to win an advanced copy of SOULBOUND. Just leave a comment here (be sure to include your email address so I can contact the winner) to enter!

UPDATE: The winner is Kristen
theshybookworm(at)yahoo(dot)com! Congrats and thank you to everyone who entered!

To Heart, or Not to Heart

It's Valentine's Day and before I wish you Happy Valentine's Day I thought I'd wax on a bit about the vagaries of this holiday.

I've been having fun reading pro and anti-Valentine's tweets and blogs this morning. I understand both sides. I'm not a fan of any holiday that makes some people feel bad and Valentine's Day is probably at the top of the list.

On the other hand, I'm of the quixotic variety so I like flowers and chocolate and silly, sloppy romantic sentiments (cheesy to me = funny and I think laughter and love go hand in hand).

Recounting the problems of this holiday is the amazing Heather Brewer. She makes exceptional points all around.

Here's a video on this dichotomous holiday, which I think nicely shows us a balance Valentine Horror and Happiness:



Also, my fabulous friend and author, David Levithan is going to be talking about his book: Lover's Dictionary (which limns the peaks and valleys of that thing called love) on All Things Considered this afternoon - check it out :)

Awesome Austin

I've ended up with an extra day in Austin due to an electrical failure on the plane I was supposed to take home. With this additional time on my hands I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the fabulous that is the Texas Book Festival.

It's my first time in Austin and I must say: cool town. Lots of interesting people, amazing art, and great places to go. There's obviously tons going on all the time.

Including Santas on Segways (there was a huge line of them, and they had elves!)

After I took this Santa's pic, he gave me a candy cane :) (I'm not kidding. He really gave me a candy cane)

The Texas Book Festival has been great. It's wonderful seeing the downtown full of literary-minded folks. I was lucky to hang out with Heather Brewer and Kirsten Miller. Our panel was standing room only! And the signing afterward was a blast.

Then we had the Zombies vs. Unicorns panel. Usually I consider myself Team Unicorn, but we were assigned our teams upon arrival and last night I made an appearance on behalf of Team Zombie. And we rocked. Though Team Unicorn "won" I think it was just 'cause of Meg Cabot's sparkly cardigan - it was a bewitching cardigan.

I was very proud of Team Zombie. We made beautiful art together. Thanks to Heather Brewer's uber-minions for taking a photo! I composed and performed a haiku for my part:

Putrid flesh is vile
but none can match the force of
Eternal hunger

Since I didn't know which team I was going to be on I also had a Team Unicorn haiku ready to go, to which you guys get exclusive access

Steed, ever untamed
Crowned with a weapon, deadly spire
To pierce hearts or win them

Clearly I will take any opportunity to write paranormal haiku.

It's been a wonderful trip, despite airplane failure, and it was amazing to talk with so many readers. Thank you to everyone who came out and to the wonderful volunteers who made the festival run smoothly.

Oh, and Nightshade is in stores in 48 HOURS!!!!