Claire Luana's Blog, page 7

2016 Year End Rundown and 2017 Goals

A lot has happened in 2016! I published Moonburner and Burning Fate, edited Sunburner, and finished the first draft of a new book, The Confectioner’s Guild! I completed NaNoWriMo for the first time, produced an audiobook, teamed up with some amazing YA authors to publish That Moment When Anthology of short stories, and brought you some great giveaways too. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about writing, editing, publishing, and marketing books.

Sometimes I get a little envious of authors who...

DONE! First draft of my third book is complete!

Whelp, The Confectioner’s Guild is done. It wasn’t pretty there towards the end.This book was definitely the equivalent of a marathon where I went out way too fast.

I raced right along to get my 50,000 words done for NaNoWriMo during November, and then…I just REALLY didn’t want to finish it. But, I eventually dragged myself back to the keyboard and finished! Remember, if you want to get a taste of The Confectioner’s Guild, you can read the first three chapters for free in the That Moment Whe...

BOOK REVIEW: Caraval, by Stephanie Garber

Check out my review on The YA Shelf, reprinted below!

This book whisks you on amagical adventure full of deliciousness for allof your senses. Caraval is about two sisters, Scarlett and Donatella (Tella for short), who live under the iron thumb of their cruel father. Scarlett, the practical older sister, has agreed to marry a stranger to try to ensure a better life for her and her sister. Her only flight of fancy is the letters she has written since she was a child toLegend, the mysterious pr...

That Moment When…Anthology Has Launched!

A few months ago I submitted the first 5,000 words of my new book, The Confectioner’s Guild, to an anthology put together by the Alliance of Young Adult Authors. My story was selected to be one of 40 featured in the anthology! The anthology launched last week, and is available on Amazon for free!

Download it HERE to check out my story and stories by some other amazing YA authors! You might just find your new favorite author…(besides yours truly)!

That Moment When is an anthology of young adu...

Epic YA Book Giveaway!

I’m collaborating with some other amazing YA authors to bring you a FANTASTIC holiday book giveaway! Enter to win one of several MASSIVE prize packs, and go into the draw for weekly $25 Amazon gift card prizes. Just for entering you get access to a lucky-dip of 8 FREE Young Adult e-books from New York Times, USA Today, International, Award-Winning, and Amazon Bestselling Authors – not to mention some of the BEST YA authors from around the globe!

YA Reader Giveaway Blitz!

The conte...

NaNoWriMo 2016, Here I Come

Guys, I’m gonna do it. NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. Where writers all over the world get together for the singularly insane challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month. Sunburner is going off to beta readers next week, and so it is the perfect time for me to turn to a fresh new task–writing a new book! I’ve had an idea for a new book in a new world for months now. Like a shiny new toy, I’ve been so excited to write it, but I’ve forced myself to finish editing Sunburner first. It...

BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Cycle, by Maggie Stiefvater

Can I share about my newest girl crush? It’s on Maggie Stiefvater, the author of the Shiver books, The Scorpio Races, and *squeal* the Raven Cycle. I tend towards fantasy in stand-alone worlds, and so I wasn’t sure what I would think of the Raven Boys, the first book in the four-part series. It’s about a psychic’s daughter named Blue, who has always been told that if she kissed her true love, she would kill him, and Gansey, a golden-haired all-American golden boy rich kid who is obsessed wit...

The Chick’s Guide to Writing Dudes

My WIP Sunburner is my second novel, but it’s the first where I’m writing from a male point of view. In my first novel, Moonburner, the entire book was from the protagonist Kai’s POV. Now, about 2/3rds of the story is from Kai’s POV, while the rest is from the perspective of Hiro, heir to the sunburner throne and Kai’s love interest. I have doubted myself throughout the writing and editing process, wondering if Hiro’s chapters fall flat.

In my case, Hiro is what I think of as a pretty typical...

BOOK REVIEW: The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh

This magical read is based on A Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian tale of Shaharazad. Girls are being murdered by the young caliphof Khorasan. Every day he marries one, and in the morning they are strangled with a silk cord. After Shahrzad’s best friend, Shiva, is murdered in this same fashion, Shahrzad volunteers to be the next doomed bride in order to exact vengeance on the cruel king. But whenher chance for revenge arrives, she realizes she can’t do it…because she’sdeveloped feelings fo...

Welcome to the 2016 Young Adult Scavenger Hunt!

Welcome hunters!

I’m Claire Luana, and I’m delighted to be a host for this awesome YA Scavenger Hunt!

A little about me:

I live in Seattle, Washington.

I have two dogs named Jameson and Guinness.

I’ve summited four mountains.

I’m a lawyer for my day job.

I know how to Scottish Highland Dance.

I love country music and I’m learning to play the mandolin.

I’ve written three young adult fantasy novels. Moonburner and Burning Fate are published, and Sunburner is coming next year!

You are curre...