Dee Garretson's Blog, page 11

Book Bloggers – One Author's View

Believe it or not, many authors are intimidated to approach book bloggers. I know a certain percentage aren't and those bombard bloggers for reviews, but they really are a very small percentage. The rest of us are cowering at our desks at the thought of reaching out to strangers. No one gives authors instructions on what to do after we write the book, so it can be overwhelming to figure out how to make connections with potential readers. And writers often do fit the stereotype- a lot of us are shy, even in online situations. I won't say we lack social skills, except maybe some of us do.

Another big issue is that authors themselves get so few advance copies, we feel like it's awkward to approach a blogger and say, "Would you like to read my book? If you would, you'll have to figure out a way to get a copy." I've been excited to learn with my latest book, that I can accumulate a list of interested bloggers and pass that on to the publisher, who will then try to meet the requests. That doesn't happen with everyone though, and I don't really know a good solution to that. We do want to be read and reviewed; we just don't know how to make it happen.

On the issue of reviews, whenever you get a bunch of published writers together, the talk often turns to how to respond to reviews. Opinions are all over the place. The most common wisdom is not to respond to a negative review, though I know people break that rule occasionally. I, for one, feel like the reviews aren't for me, they are for readers, so it's really none on my business to comment. I get that not everyone will love my books. We also wonder what to do about positive reviews. Some want to comment and thank the reviewer, but others say then they feel stalkerish. We really are quivering masses of insecurity.

That's why the whole Armchair BEA has been great for me to be able to click on various blogs and see who is out there. I am also thrilled bloggers seek out books by newer authors. It's all to easy to get lost in the crowd, especially when we don't like crowds!

Armchair BEA Giveaway! ARC of THE NIGHT CIRCUS

I am so excited to be able to host a giveaway of a signed ARC of Erin Morgenstern's THE NIGHT CIRCUS, one of the 'Big Books of BEA, Adult Titles'.   The book looks fabulous and I can't wait for it to be released. Here's a little more about it from Erin's website:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is comment by 8:00 A.M. Eastern time, Friday, May. Sorry, but this is for U.S/Canadian residents only. The winner will be notified the following week. If you are interested in middle grade fiction, here's a link to my other giveaway, a signed hardcover of my first book, WILDFIRE RUN: giveaway  The sponsors of Armchair BEA are giving away an ARC of my second book, WOLF STORM.

Armchair BEA Giveaway! WILDFIRE RUN signed hardcover

I gave one of my ARCs of my forthcoming book, WOLF STORM, to the organizers of Armchair BEA for their sponsors' giveaways, but I also want to offer a copy of my first book, WILDFIRE RUN, a Junior Library Guild selection. If you are interested in middle grade fiction and would like a chance to win a copy, please comment below. Click on this link for my other giveaway, a signed ARC of one of the 'Big Books of BEA, Adult Titles', Erin Morgenstern's THE NIGHT CIRCUS.

Here's a little more about WILDFIRE RUN: Just once Luke Brockett would like to do something slightly dangerous, but when your father is the Presidents of the United States, that is not an option.

Always surrounded by Secret Service agents and kept in a bubble of safety, Luke see Camp David, The presidential retreat in the woods of Maryland, as the only place where he can be almost normal. For one week in August, Luke's mother has arranged for Luke and two friends to 'experience nature', if they can only manage to ignore the armed Marines all around them.

The experience comes to a quick end when disaster strikes. Luke and his friends are trapped inside, left on their own, the Secret Service agents incapacitated, forcing the three to outwit security systems designed to be unbeatable in their attempts to escape before it is too late.

To enter the giveaway (international), all you have to do is comment by 8:00 A.M. Eastern time, Friday, May 27th. The winner will be notified the following week.

Armchair BEA 2011 – Introduction

Many thanks to those awesome bloggers who came up with the idea for Armchair BEA! http://www.armchairbea.com/ I love the idea of finding out about all the people out there who love books. Now that I spend so much time writing, sadly, I have less time to read so I depend on book bloggers to keep me up-to-date with the latest books.

Armchair BEA is doing a giveaway of an ARC of my next book, WOLF STORM, a middle grade/tween adventure, so be sure to enter! To find out more about the story, click here

Here's a quick introduction to me:

Who: Writer of Middle Grade fiction, maybe expanding into YA in the future

Where I live: Cincinnati, Ohio

What I like to read: Adventures, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Thrillers, Historicals

Geek fact about me: I love Lord of the Rings, books and movies

Favorite Books (besides LOTR) : Pride and Prejudice, Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy

What I wouldn't want to live without (besides my family and books): cats, movies. travel, and gardening

So please tell me a little about yourself. What's your favorite type of book to read? What wouldn't you want to live without? (besides books)

The Bookstore of the Future

Should all bookstores in the future have a resident cat? No, even though I would like to see that, I just used this picture because I am a cat person. What can bookstores do to survive? I can't imagine a world without them, but it's clear that most traditional bookstores are searching for ways to stay in business with the rise of ereaders and the ease of ordering books on the internet. It's been fascinating for me to check out various independent bookstores and their websites to see how some have adapted. Some are really community centers, those with the space to allow groups to meet and talk books or listen to music and poetry readings. That's a good thing, because I'm sure once people are in the store, it's hard to walk away without a purchase. I love meeting my critique group at a bookstore, because what better place can someone go to be inspired to write?

I'm thinking further into the future though. I'll continue to do much of my shopping at bookstores instead of ordering online, but what will draw other people in, those more casual readers? All of us traditionalists say we love the feel of a real book, but we are fast becoming the minority. I go to bookstores for the atmosphere, partly, but more so I can browse. Even once I get an ereader, I will still want to look for new books I haven't heard about, and find out enough about them so that I can decide if I want to buy them. Imagine a very high tech bookstore. Wouldn't it be great to have a something like the television news stations' magic walls of information? Book covers displayed, where if you touched the screen, you could read the backcover blurb and then see the book trailer. You could choose whether you want to read a few pages, either on the screen or own your own ereader. Reviews don't influence my particular buys, but if people are interested in those, they could be available as well. Essentially it would be like the Amazon model, but in a store atmosphere.

For example, I'd love to see children's books grouped more by type of book rather than just alphabetical by author's last name. I have a daughter who loves animal stories, so it would be convenient to see a section of middle grade books about animals. You could browse historical books, adventure books, school settings, and on and on. With computer screens , books could be in more than one category too. Once you found a book you liked, you could download it right there. Somehow it seems easier to browse when you see the larger images in front of you, rather than trying to get around on a small home computer screen. Physical inventory would be cut down, so more books could be shown, including those of newer authors who might not get a place in the bookstores of today.

A high tech bookstore would of course be very expensive to configure, but we can dream, can't we? So I'd love to hear comments from others about why they go to bookstores and what they would like to see in the bookstore of the future.

More WOLF STORM – A Movie Poster for the movie within the story

As I mentioned in an earlier post, WOLF STORM is about a group of young actors filming a science fiction movie when disaster strikes. For fun, and to use in the book trailer, I had a multitalented writer friend named Danielle DeVor create a faux movie poster of the film within the story:

WOLF STORM Costumes – Designing for the Fictional Movie

I love movies, especially sprawling science fiction, fantasy or historical epics with elaborate costumes and props and sets. When I set out to write WOLF STORM, the most fun part of the preliminary planning was getting to think up my own movie, which helps set up the story of what happens to the actors when things go very wrong . I wanted the movie within the story to be sci fi, so I had a terrific time thinking up costumes, weapons, creatures and spacecraft. Someday, I'd like to actually write the sci fi story itself. I'm planning to use some of the ideas I came up with in the trailer, if I can get the images transferred from my head to the paper. Here are the costumes the main characters, Stefan and Raine, are supposed to wear (Disclaimer-I'm not great at drawing faces. Also, for some reason, their silver gloves did not scan, so imagine they have hands.):

Bookstore Travels – Ebenezer Books – Johnson, Vermont

 

I can't resist bookstores, so I've decided to photograph and post pictures of all the ones I visit in my travels.  First up is Ebenezer Books, a beautiful, independent store in Johnson, Vermont. They don't have a website, and I found out about it by asking someone in a store about nearby bookstores.  The person I asked raved about this store. It's located in an old bank building, so the vault is still there:

I doubt there are many places where a stuffed llama lives next to a bank vault.

Here's part of the children's section:

There was a great variety of books in a small space. I was particularly impressed by the selection of picture books.

Ebenzer Books, 2 Lower Main W, Johnson, Vermont

How many did you read? Debut middle grade 2010 books

So many books, so little time. I wanted to support fellow debut writers whose books came out in 2010 with this list before we all move on to the shiny new 2011 releases. It struck me that it would be a good thing to do when I saw some lists of people's favorite 2010 books posted by the first of December, because I worried that some of the debuts with October, November and December release dates would be overlooked. In this era of budget cuts, so many new authors don't have enough ARCs to send out, and it's tough to get a book noticed.

I'm sure I've missed many, so if you know of another 2010 middle grade debut, please leave it in the comments and I will update the list. Also, I tried to make sure these were all debuts, but it was tough to find information on some authors, so again, please post correct information in the comments if you see I've made a mistake. But most of all, enjoy! I hope we will see many more books from all these authors.

A – Alexander, R.C. UNFAMILIAR MAGIC

B – Buyea, Rob, BECAUSE OF MR. TERRUPT

Bond, Victoria, ZORA & ME

C – Cervantes, Jennifer TORTILLA SUN

D – Diamand, Emily, RAIDER'S RANSOM

Dooley, Sarah, LIVVIE OWEN LIVED HERE

E – Eland, Lindsay SCONES AND SENSIBILITY

F – Falls, Kat, DARK LIFE

Fixmer, Elizabeth, SAINT TRAINING

G – Garretson, Dee, WILDFIRE RUN (I couldn't leave my own off, right?)

G – Gonzales, Christina, THE RED UMBRELLA

H – Houtman, Jacqueline THE REINVENTION OF EDISON THOMAS

I – Ignatov, Amy, THE POPULARITY PAPERS

J – Jacobson, Andrew and Adam Jay Epstein, THE FAMILIARS

K – Kent, Rose, KIMCHI & CALAMARI and ROCKY ROAD

Kirby, Matthew, THE CLOCKWORK THREE

L – Lairimore, Dawn IVY'S EVER AFTER

Latham, Irene, LEAVING GEE'S BEND

Leader, Jessica NICE AND MEAN

M – Manivong, Laura ESCAPING THE TIGER

Messer, Stephen, WINDBLOWNE

N – Nielsen, Jennifer, ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR

O – Osmond, Claudia, SMUDGE'S MARK

P – Pickard-Fawcet, Katie, TO COME AND GO LIKE MAGIC

Power, Timothy, THE BOY WHO HOWLED

Q – Quimby, Laura, CARNIVAL OF LOST SOULS

R – Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, 8th GRADE SUPERZERO

S – Senzai, N.H., SHOOTING KABUL

T – Tanner, Lian THE MUSEUM OF THIEVES

Toffler-Corrie, Laura, THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF AMY FINAWITZ, EIGHTH GRADER

U –

V- Van Eekhout, Greg KID VS SQUID

Vanderpool, Clare MOON OVER MANIFEST

W – Wagner, Hilary Wagner, NIGHTSHADE CITY

Walsh, Pat THE CROWFIELD CURSE

X

Y

Z – Zahler, Diane, THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS

WOLF STORM – Coming 9/1/2011

I'm thrilled to be able to put up the cover of my new book, WOLF STORM, which will be released by HarperCollins on September 1, 2011. It's an adventure for middle grade and young adult readers along the lines of my first book, WILDFIRE RUN.

Sometimes filming a movie can go very wrong…and turn all too real.

This is Stefan's big break. He's on location in the mountains far from home for his first movie role, filming a blockbuster sci fi adventure. The props, the spaceships, and the trained wolves on set should add up to a dream job, but acting turns out to be much tougher than he ever imagined, and he feels like his inner loser is all that's showing through.

From the way his famously stuck-up co-star, Raine, treats him, he's pretty sure she thinks so too. And worst of all, no one will believe his claim there are wild wolves haunting the forest around the set.

When a blizzard strikes, isolating the young co-stars and bringing hungry feral wolves into the open, Stefan must take on his biggest role yet-working together with his costars to survive. With no second takes, they only have one chance to get it right.

Lights

Camera

Action!