Cindy Pon's Blog, page 7

Thank Goodness It’s Free Books Monday 2012!

hi lovely readers!

it’s been a while since i’ve done a tgifbm! give

away, so let’s start the year off right! these are all

YA novels that i enjoyed reading recently and pubbed

in 2011 or, in the case of Cinder, just released this year!

they are all hardcovers and I Will Save You is a signed

copy by matt.

WINNER TAKES ALL!

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Kidd is running from his past and his future. No mom, no dad, and there’s nothing for him at the group home but therapy. He doesn’t belong at the beach where he works either, unless he finds a reason to stay.

Olivia is blond hair, blue eyes, rich dad. The prettiest girl in Cardiff. She’s hiding something from Kidd—but could they ever be together anyway?

Devon is mean, mysterious, and driven by a death wish. A best friend and worst enemy. He followed Kidd all the way to the beach and he’s not leaving until he teaches him a few lessons about life. And Olivia.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

rad reads, right?

you know the rules: tweet, fb status,

live journal or blog, etc, with a link back

to this post. make sure you leave your link in

the comments section of this post to enter.

i will be sending books to a US mailing address

only, alas, as it’s a heavy stash.

contest closes next friday, 1/27, when i’ll

draw a random winner. good luck!!

Thank Goodness It's Free Books Monday 2012!

hi lovely readers!

it's been a while since i've done a tgifbm! give

away, so let's start the year off right! these are all

YA novels that i enjoyed reading recently and pubbed

in 2011 or, in the case of Cinder, just released this year!

they are all hardcovers and I Will Save You is a signed

copy by matt.

WINNER TAKES ALL!

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki's blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen's son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Kidd is running from his past and his future. No mom, no dad, and there's nothing for him at the group home but therapy. He doesn't belong at the beach where he works either, unless he finds a reason to stay.

Olivia is blond hair, blue eyes, rich dad. The prettiest girl in Cardiff. She's hiding something from Kidd—but could they ever be together anyway?

Devon is mean, mysterious, and driven by a death wish. A best friend and worst enemy. He followed Kidd all the way to the beach and he's not leaving until he teaches him a few lessons about life. And Olivia.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

rad reads, right?

you know the rules: tweet, fb status,

live journal or blog, etc, with a link back

to this post. make sure you leave your link in

the comments section of this post to enter.

i will be sending books to a US mailing address

only, alas, as it's a heavy stash.

contest closes next friday, 1/27, when i'll

draw a random winner. good luck!!

fan art thursday

*ai ling fights against demons.

i think any author will tell you that one of the

best perks of being published is receiving fan

art from readers. i have been lucky to have gotten

a few from my artistic readers and i love each and

every one of them.

imagine my surprise today when liz wong, the

fabulous artist, tweeted this beautiful drawing

(rendered in pencil and colored digitally) of ai ling to

me. don't you love the fierce expression on my heroine's

face? the demons and feel of the drawing reminds me of

the lake scene from Silver Phoenix–one of the very first

scenes i ever wrote for my debut. i remember brainstorming

the scene in the early dawn, and i am not a morning person!

thank you so much liz for this wonderful drawing!

and for giving me permission to share it here.

have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

ETA: oooh, the serpent demon is here too!

it's a montage of monsters and demons! love it since

my heroine of current novel is half serpent demon!

favorite reads of 2011

happy 2012 everyone!

once again, i'm here to list my favorite

reads from the previous year. this past year,

i only read 54 novels. not a lot by any means,

but still enough to fuel me. the more that i read

and the more that i write, i've truly come to realize

how personal reading favorites are. yes, everyone

might agree that [this] book is really good. but not

every reader will truly *love* it.

i've read a lot of excellent novels in 2011–and the

ones that are my favorite are for completely personal

reasons. and i have to admit, it is becoming more and

more difficult to choose each year. last year, i didn't

bother to rank them, and i won't this year either. i'm only

glad i managed to whittle them down to five, with many

honorable mentions worth mentioning.

i consider myself a reader before i consider myself

a writer. and i'm just as big a fangirl as the rest of

you when it comes to favorite authors and books.

for those who are curious, my top favorites

from the last few years are listed here on my about page.

now, i'm very happy to announce, with links to my

goodreads reviews, my top five reads of 2011, in the order

that i read them. (not all novels were published in 2011.)

Red Glove by holly black

You Against Me by jenny downham

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

by francisco x. stork

The Gray Wolf Throne by cinda williams chima

Mistress of Rome by kate quinn [debut]

Other favorites read in 2011, all rated 5 stars:

Clockwork Prince by cassandra clare

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by lish mcbride

Huntress by malinda lo

Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill

Madame Tussaud by michelle moran

Nevermore by kelly creagh

Slice of Cherry by dia reeves

So Silver Bright by lisa mantchev

The Demon's Surrender by sarah rees brennan

The Dragon and the Pearl by jeannie lin

The Second Duchess by elizabeth loupas

and there you have it! what were some of YOUR

favorite reads from 2011? any that surprised you?

my biggest surprise would have to be You Against Me

by downham. it's contemporary–which i'm more

selective of when reading (i favor fantasy), but it

stayed with me for a very long time. she's a fantastic

writer and storyteller, and tackled a difficult subject

in a compelling way.

i'm excited to keep reading in 2012!

also, stay tuned for a big Greenwillow Books giveaway

next week–including TWO fantastic arcs!

currently reading:

Saving Fish From Drowning by amy tan

dreaming of spring

i don't know which date or day it is at

any given time. november is gone and december

seems to be passing me by leaps and bounds.

and the only thing i'm certain of,

if you were to ask me, is where i am exactly in my

rough drafting of novel 3: issues i need to address,

inconsistencies that i'm concerned about, word choice

and dialogue. those, i can tell you in a snap.

but i'm afraid between holiday parties, kiddies holiday

performances, the special clothes they need to wear,

the secret santa exchanges, gifts for the teachers, donations

to adopted families, so on and so forth, i'm at a complete

jumbled loss.

what day is it again? =)

brush painting, as always, is my meditative sanctuary.

but while my teacher has been encouraging winter subjects

such as pine dusted in snow and plum blossoms, i've been

inevitably reaching for spring, as i tend to do.

thus, i present you with funny birds perching amongst

a burst of fragrant blooms.

and without further ado, i'd like to announce the

winner and honorable mentions for my nameless cat

contest. thank you so much for everyone who made

suggestions, so many of which made me smile!

the grand prize winner, with the actual name printed

on the back of my new cat cards is deborah with

"Inscrutable Cat". congrats, deborah, who will be

receiving two of the cards as a prize! (i'd give deborah

a copy of Silver Phoenix, but she has already bought

and read it, ha!)

honorable mentions go to:

zombie joe with "Mr. Grumpy Puff".

joan stradling with "Shady Cat" and the

hilarious caption: "If this tree touches me

I'll turn it into a scratching post."

and megan's "SoPo Under the Bough" which

sounds all hip and sassy. =D

honorable mentions will each be receiving

one card in the post! thanks to all for playing!! xo

currently reading:

Brideshead Revisited by evelyn waugh

what is thy name, cat?

i was so pleased by my riot of blossoms with my

funny birds painting recently that i had to repeat it!

but this time, it is a funny cat sitting beneath the

blooms. this is my third cat painting! as i've said on

twitter, i consider myself more a dog than cat person,

tho i like both animals–but cats have a way of sneaking

into my novels–as cats will do. and apparently, into my

art too! my first cat was named Blobby Cat, my second

Surly Cat. i have no idea what this cat should be named.

want to help?

help come up with a name or title for this painting and

WIN A PRIZE! what will i win, cindy, what what?

eh. this is a haphazard half-arsed giveaway open

to all. let me surprise you. tho i'm sure it'll be something

bookish or brush arty. =)

contest ends when i feel like it.

you must COMMENT your name or title below.

GO!

full circle

i'm here! i'm here! but have been

so outrageously busy with writing novel 3 and

real life stuff. thanks for stopping by and

please leave a comment and say HI! *waves* =D

at the end of october, i attended my first world fantasy

con AND malinda and i also brought the Diversity in YA

tour to official close, with a fantastic signing at the Poway

library. thank you so much danielle, for having us! so many

of my friends from twitter (yes, twitter!) who love YA came

to attend the event. thank you guys for coming too!

greg van eekhout was the only other local author and

was kind enough to shuttle all the panelists from the

world fantasy con hotel over to the library. i admit, i was

nervous. when we say DiYA is grassroots, we mean it–

pile a bunch of YA authors into one car–adventures!

yikes. greg admitted he was nervous and i felt the exact

same AFTER the event, when i drove everyone to a taiwanese

dinner. ha!

*our rad panel consisted of (L to R): malinda lo, me, cinda chima,

holly black, karen healey, and greg van eekhout with danielle, the

wonderful YA librarian at the Poway branch as moderator.

*i'm fairly certain that i'm responding to the question posed

by the raddest 13 year old boy in the audience: what's a eunuch?

everyone said i did a wonderful job of explaining in an as polite

way as possible. even radder? the boy bought a signed copy of Silver

Phoenix after!!

*it was a packed event and such a fantastic way to end

our Diversity Tour. it truly was a labor of love and malinda

and i stressed but had a wonderful time. to be honest, looking

back, i'm not sure how we pulled it off. haha! but i will say that

the tour was only as successful as the great authors who agreed to

join us at each tour stop, as well as the YA book lovers who showed up

to support us! thank you!!

*a mom with twin girls wanted a foto of them with malinda

and me. how cute are they? one twin got Silver Phoenix and

the other got Fury of the Phoenix, but each only wanted me to

sign the novel to herself. hehe!

*so it started as a joke on twitter when i asked megan

(best fan ever aka BFA) wouldn't she LOVE to be at our diversity

panel. unfortunately, she lives in utah. well, guess who drove all

the way out from utah (again!) to attend the event? thank you megan

for being such a fantastic and fun fan!

*karaline came with her sister larissa, also a YA fan! this

was her first bookish event, hoorah! karaline said she had

a blast. =D

*a group foto of awesome! (L to R back to front: joanna (librarian),

karen, malinda, greg, holly, me, lali (librarian), danielle (librarian),

cinda and jennfier (librarian). i loved the librarians who all came

to support the event, not to mention host us!

*it was so great to finally meet the lovely rae carson,

author of fantasy debut The Girl of Fire and Thorns. and

between you and me? she's even beautiful now than back

in her beauty pageant days!

*i didn't get to attend world fantasy con full time because

i motherly duties called that weekend as well. but a highlight

was definitely meeting n. k. jemisin (nora) whose debut The

Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. i was really bummed i missed

out on her pajama themed release party for the third book in

the series, The Kingdom of Gods. BUT! she tweeted about giving

away the slightly used games from the party and i responded with

a YES, please. so i picked up the games before the banquet. thus nora

is looking so elegant in her beautiful gown. what a fan girl moment!!

*here is a foto by my friend heather of the YA panel i was

on at the con. it was a pleasure and honor to be discussing young

adult books and reading along with mar perez, karen healey and

tamora pierce.

whew! i hope you enjoyed the recap and fotos! it has been a whirlwind

november and i can hardly believe thanksgiving is next week! stay

tuned for another cat painting to be posted this week. i need help

with naming this particular cat–and there shall be a prize if you play!

feed your soul

*funny birds say: what's up?

after many months of not completing a painting

worth framing, i was happy to take home these

funny birds chillin' under a riot of blossoms. i

personally think that a person's art is a little glimpse

into her soul, and for me, my brush art definitely

caters to the charming whimsical side. i'm drawn

to cute creatures and bright colors when i paint–

it's simply what i love and lifts my spirits.

when writing, i reveal much more darkness and

angst. my writing is more grown up than my

paintings. 8) even then, i have very little interest

in writing from an adult's perspective: marriage,

children, grown up responsibilities and worries. why?

i live this! and all my artistic endeavors are about

escapism, catering to the sides of me that aren't

expressed so often in day to day life.

i honestly believe that art and fostering your

creative side is so good for the soul. i actually call

it art therapy. this is my tenth year as a brush painting

student, and it's been a wonderful journey for me.

it's amazing how that decade flew by. i never considered

myself artistic when i was younger. i remember drawing

"still lifes" in pencil of my mini schnauzer, my stuffed

animals, and even one of my walkman (haha!) but that

was the extent of my interest. it wasn't really encouraged

by my parents. writing wasn't, either. they were just

hobbies that i did on my own.

this year, i'm volunteering for the bubs' art class.

their new school has a dedicated art teacher (so

wonderful) who has her own studio. she asked me

yesterday to help with the annual student art show.

each student chooses one project they are most proud

of to display, and the show is on for two days, catered

with coffee and pastries–all fancy and a big deal.

i think this is wonderful! a show really lets the children

understand what it feels like to display your work, to

feel accomplished and acknowledged, and also to place

importance on art. because i think it truly is important

to a child's growth and development, to encourage that

creativity.

it's when the magic happens.

seven

almost a year ago, upon finishing my Fury of the Phoenix

revisions, i really wanted to celebrate by getting a fourth

piercing in my right ear (making a total of seven between

my two ears). i had one ten years ago but it closed,

and had wanted to repierce it for the longest time. alas, due

to travel and general Fury release and Diversity in YA tour

craziness–it never happened. until this monday…

hoorah! i invited fellow san diegan YA author kirsten

hubbard on a piercing date and she took fotos! check

out her post here. she said i smiled the whole time.

probably. haha! the pain was minimal–it's the healing

the piercing for weeks that will be the real challenge now!

the piercing followed an exciting weekend of book events.

on saturday, i attended the mission viejo reader's festival.

it was a fantastic event and had something for readers of

all ages. i arrived early and chatted to jamie ford (Hotel on

the Corner of Bitter and Sweet) for a bit. allison, the lovely

librarian who invited me to the event for a diversity panel also

introduced me to linda evans, who recently released a memoir

recipe book. she was very gracious.

*our fantastically fun panel: lisa yee, gretchen

mcneil, moderator allison, me, and marlene perez!

on sunday, i attended the orange county children's

book festival for the first time. it was hot! but also very

well attended and there was a fantastic YA line up including

authors such as lindsey leavitt, d. j. mchale, andrew smith,

kami garcia, heather brewer, katie alender… so many rad

authors in one place!!

some attending YA authors: lisa desrochers,jeff mariotte,

gretchen mcneil, heather brewer, me, inara scott, katie alender.

reading from Fury of the Phoenix. i'm wearing

prescription sunglasses and it was a hot and bright

day. just to clarify i wasn't being a diva. inara (to my

left) and i actually discussed the decision before going

on stage. hee! also on the rad paranormal panel, emma

michaels, gretchen mcneil and jeff mariotte.

it was a wonderful weekend spent with fellow book lovers,

readers, and writers with great food to go with the great

company. a special shout out to aly who was my official

author handler, as in, she literally had to be on the phone

directing me where to drive as i got hopefully lost. i'm afraid

sense of direction is not my forte. you'll never find a map

in the front of my fantasy novel. haha

wow. this post took all day to write because sweet pea

fell off the monkey bars and smashed her teeth. ouch. so

the afternoon entailed a trip to the dentist as well as the ER

to make sure she wasn't injured beyond what we could see.

she is okay!

also, congratulations to vivian on the YA Rising Stars

tgifbm! giveaway! thank you to all those who entered!

tgifbm! YA Rising Stars edition!

Thank Goodness It's Free Books Monday, y'all!

and this one is gonna rock socks. remember a month

back i had a fantastically fun signing at Once Upon A Time

in montrose with suz young, nova ren suma and holly

goldberg sloan?

*me, holly with delicious cake pops, suz and nova.

well, get ready young adult novel fans! i'm giving away

signed copies of A Need So Beautiful, Imaginary Girls,

I'll Be There and (i literally decided while posting this)

Silver Phoenix OR Fury of the Phoenix to ONE lucky winner!

goodreads link

goodreads link

goodreads link

goodreads link

it's been too long since i've had a tgifbm! giveaway

and i thought i'd come back with a bang! do you

remember the drill? tweet, facebook status, blog, LJ

or whatever with a blurb and link back to this post, then

comment with that link here. giveaway open to US mailing

addresses only. i'll select a random winner on friday, 9/30.

good luck!