Lisa Roecker's Blog, page 32

The Liar Society Blog Tour of Awesome WINNNERS!!!

Holy cannoli March has been AMAZING! Thank you all so much for your support and for helping us get word out about The Liar Society! If you've missed any of the stops on our blog tour, you can click here to find all of the amazing blogs who hosted us over the course of the month. We had an absolute blast writing all of the guest posts and answering all of your questions.

We're thrilled to announce that we had over 2,000 entries into our Blog Tour of Awesome Contest and random.org picked two VERY lucky winners today!

HUGE congratulations to our Grande Prize Winner Jackie Hagman!

Jackie will be receiving:

A $100 Amazon Gift Card;An insider Copy of The Liar Society with Special Commentary from Lisa and Laura;Twizzlers; and J. Crew Pearl Bracelet
and...

Congratulations to our our runner up, Harmony Beaufort!

Harmony will be receiving:


A signed copy of The Liar Society;Twizzlers; andJ. Crew Pearl BraceletWe'll be contacting you via email to get your address so we can send you your fabulous prizes! Hoorah!

And as if that wasn't awesome enough, the AMAZING Kim Harrington sent us a link to this incredible book trailer created by Adriana Melgoza, Teen Librarian at the Alhambra Library.



How cool is that? If you liked the trailer for Liar Society be sure to check out ! What a creative way to engage young readers!

And because we had so much fun in March we just had to try to plan something even more exciting and MORE amazing for April and May, so please, please, PLEASE check back tomorrow for details on a crazy amazing contest we've dreamed up with some pretty amazing (best selling-ish, award winning-ish) authors. You will not be disappointed. Pinky swear promise.

WTF Wednesday: Someone Buy the Biebs a Burger

The Biebs is looking manarexic. We're concerned his momager is working him to the bone.

Tell the Truth Tuesday

1. I'm scared to talk to other authors. We're trying to schedule a group signing in Chicago sometime in May and asking other authors to join scares the crap out of me. I'm always terrified people are going to see our name and think, "Those losers? No WAY am I associating with them in public."

2. I just watched a commercial for Sonic Hotdogs and thought "YUM."

3. On Saturday the only thing I ingested all day was an enormous burrito bowl from Chipotle.

4. I'm pretty sure if I had to battle someone for a sleeve of Thin Mints Hunger Games style right now, I'd win.

5. I feel bad that almost all of our truths this week are food related which is ironic because I haven't lost a freaking POUND.

6. Sometimes the definition of irony still confuses me a little. Seems like a lot of things I consider ironic aren't technically ironic.


7. My new goal in life is to bring PSYCHE! back into popularity. As in, "Guess what? I decided to make all of Ben's baby food from scratch....PSYCHE!"

Ok, so what's your truth this Tuesday? Spill it in the comments. Actually, don't bother. We're so not interested....PSYCHE!

You ARE the Weakest Link

Laura: Did you read my chapter yet?

Lisa: No, I'm still editing the old stuff.

Laura: Great. You're probably going to hate it.

Lisa: Probably. I'm really hungry and hunger makes me angry.

Laura: Just eat something.

Lisa: No. I'm going to lose the last of this baby weight before May.

Laura: Will you please eat something before you read my chapter? I don't want to be the weak link.

Lisa: Whatever. I'm the weak link. You had to completely rewrite my lame first chapter. Remember?

Laura: True.

Lisa: sjhskgjiuofnsfkjosighfski

Laura: Huh?

Lisa: sksjvkm akjfgviogjioindgjdfkv dkvsdvmoi

Laura: What's going on over there?

Lisa: Oops, sorry. Just passed out due to hunger.

Laura: Awesome. So glad you own the WIP document right now. That's just great.

Lisa: Don't mess with me. I'll eat your face. Seriously.

Laura: Dare I even ask if you've thought of anything for the blog tomorrow?

Lisa: I'm too hungry to think.

Laura: I'm just posting this convo, ok?

Lisa: kgdjgdojcnoifnjgvbjjvaiofijmkvd jsijga v9i4r90wi m

Laura: I'll take that as a yes.

The Friday Five Inbox Edition

We've had a happy inbox kind of week. Here are a few highlights:

1. Received an email from BFF who said her cousin texted her from her High School Strategic Reading class. One of her classmates was doing a book talk on Liar Society and she was like, "I KNOW THEM!" Student gave it a 9/10 and said it was "really good." Best. News. Ever.

2. A few people have emailed with their reactions to the book since it's been out. It's so cool when readers take the time to do this. Not only do they make us cry (we're a tad sensitive up in here), but they take the week to a whole new level. We know how busy everyone is. We seriously feel honored.

3. Publicist Kay is amazing. So nice and responsive and enthusiastic and, and, and. We love her.

4. We learned this week that a girl who HATES reading flew through The Liar Society. Mission accomplished.

5. No week would be complete without emails of the random variety containing very few words (Interesting. or Have you seen this? or Check it.) and a link. Favorite emails ever. Here's one that the ever amazing Loretta Nyhan sent our way. Fascinating, no?

What went down in your inbox this week?

PS: This week was also an inbox spring cleaning of sorts and we're 110% positive that we've missed interviews or books we were supposed to mail out or other extremely important commitments. If we've dropped the ball in any way, shape or form, PLEASE let us know! It makes us sick to think we've missed something.

PPS: Lisa is going to be in Dayton signing The Liar Society on April 1st with JULIE KAGAWA author of The Iron Queen, JULIA KARR, author of XVI, MARA PURNHAGEN, author of One Hundred Candles, MARIA V. SNYDER, author of Outside In and SARA BENNET WEALER, author of Rival. Click here for details. She's going to be flying solo for the first time (that slacker Laura has a wedding) and would love to see some familiar faces!

The Bookanistas: What Happened to Goodbye

We love The Dessen around these parts. The Regulator ALWAYS has a Dessen novel queued up in her car and we have nothing but respect for the reigning queen of YA. Also her Twitter stream is refreshingly honest and random. The girl loves her Good Morning America and you got to respect that. So you can imagine the excitement in LiLa Land when we got our hands on an ARC of Dessen's upcoming novel, WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE.
Here's what the back cover has to say:Since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move - four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, Mclean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, Mclean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself - whoever that is. Perhaps her neighbor Dave, an academic superstar trying to be just a regular guy, can help her find out. Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading.Lila's Take:Every time I sit down to read a Sarah Dessen novel, I learn something. Whether it's the way she fleshes out her characters and makes them come alive--how you meet someone and immediately categorize them but by the end of the book have a completely different viewpoint. Or the way she takes the everyday conflicts that plague all or most of us and adds a special twist to set them apart, a factor that makes every book unique, no matter how common the topic. Either way, I feel like I could either be a better writer after reading her books or am a complete hack.

In WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, we meet Mclean who moves around with her dad all the time following her parents' nasty divorce and reinvents herself in every town they land. It's hard not to see a little bit of yourself in this character, a little bit of that I have no idea who I am or who I want to be--even at *gasp* 30! And it's hard not to get a little jealous of Mclean's clean slate (and her free time--is it just me, or do you read YA books and yearn to have even a sliver of the freetime you had in high school???). She gets to start over in every town and specifically holds herself at an emotional distance to make the break a bit more clean when her dad and her inevitably leave. But, in this particular town (and if you read Dessen, you'll feel at home--BTW this is another aspect of Dessen that I LOVE--the world she's created that is interwoven in most of her books. I always want to shout HOORAY when I recognize a detail from a past book), Mclean has to do a bit less work fabricating her character. Instead, the real her (or a her she's just starting to get to know) is coming to the surface and all of the sudden instead of manipulating the details like who she's friends with and who she's supposed to be, they're all falling into place naturally. And it's jarring.

This book has all of the Dessen qualities everyone loves so much--the friendship, the love interest, a strong element of family and the conflicts that often come with the territory. WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE would be wonderful for young adults who are dealing with divorce because it reminds us how complicated life has a tendency to get. Another wonderful book by an incredible author.
Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:
Click here to join The Bookanista Book Club at The Reading Room where you can check out all the books we're buzzing about! 
Elana Johnson reveals the cover of The Eleventh Plague

LiLa Roecker wonders What Happened to Goodbye Christine Fonseca wants to be Like Mandarin Jamie Harrington falls for Falling Under Shelli Johannes-Wells visits Dark and Hollow Places Beth Revis discovers Lost and Found Carolina Valdez Miller is wild about Wither Megan Miranda swoons for Anna and the French Kiss Bethany Wiggins commends Ketura and Lord Death Shana Silver gushes over What Happened to Goodbye  Jen Hayley peers into Clarity Carrie Harris is mesmerized by Memento Nora Matt Blackstone visits The Ninth Ward Corrine Jackson jumps for Bumped Stasia Ward Kehoe spotlights Strings Attached

WTF Wednesday

"Recent Keyword Activity" in StatCounter is like being the fly on a wall in the skeevy bedroom of a 40+ year-old man who still lives with his parents.

We know your secrets 40+ year-old man.

What we don't know is why the following search terms led YOU to US.

1. kate gosselin cameltoe
2. douche in pink shirt
3. perky (this was entered multiple times)
4. tiger pounce
5. camel toe naughty america

PS: Lisa will have her Fug Madness picks in as soon as the synopsis for our WIP is done digesting her brain. Then I get to take a stab at it.

PPS: Join us at The Book Pixie and The Book Scout and don't forget to enter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just think of all the crap books you could buy with that money!

Sister Tiff

Laura: *yawn* Um, your blog post isn't scheduled for tomorrow and I'm getting tired.
Lisa: *makes knife gesture to neck* Yeah, because I'm writing. Remember our rule?
Laura: Well, I can't exactly fill out your Fug Girls bracket myself, now can I?
Lisa: You can't even fill out your bracket, so no, I bet you can't.
Laura: Geez, what's your problem?
Lisa: Oh nothing except for the fact that I've been working all day on our synopsis and Ben has a weird mark on his head.
Laura: Wait, what kind of mark?
Lisa: It's white with red around it. It's hard to explain, okay? But it's a mark. On his head.
Laura: He probably just hit it on the crib or something.
Lisa: Ugh. My life just sucks. Ben has a mark on his head and I'm stuck writing a synopsis AND a blog post.
Laura: I'll do the blog post. Relax.
Lisa: AND responding to all of our emails.
Laura: Oh...yeah, um, since I've gotten my new phone, I've gotten kind of bad at that. I read them. I just don't respond.
Lisa: Thanks. A lot.
Laura: I'm not good at the touch screen, okay? You're the one who pressured me to get rid of the Alias, so technically it's your fault.
Lisa: Everything is my fault. *Googles white and red mark on side of baby's skull*
Laura: Can't wait to read the synopsis!
Lisa: I hate you.

*Wupshaw* *Wupshaw* Madness Style

Hear that? That's the sound of a whip. The sound of me kicking whipping Lisa's ass in the Fug Madness Tourney.

Let me break it down.

Well, I would if I knew how to break it down. I'm not gonna lie, brackets REALLY confuse me. BUT, luckily, Lisa's a whiz at Google Forms and those I can understand. I'll have to get some help from my hubs for the actual completion of the bracket. I'm sure he'll be extra patient when he realizes we're filling in the names of celebrities and betting on books.

Here goes nothing...

I'll be betting with a signed copy of Liar Society, some signed booksmarks and bonuses included.

Final Four Cher Bracket: Drew "Crazy Pants" Barrymore. I mean, is there any doubt?

Final Four Madonna Bracket: Chloe "No Love" Sevigny. Yep.

Final Four Bjork Bracket: Christina "Rode Hard" Aguilera. She's been looking a bit worse for the wear lately. That's not very nice of me to say. But I guess none of this is very nice.

Final Four Charo Bracket: Rhianna "Edgy = Ugly" I don't get it. And I think the bulk of what she wears is fugly, even if it is on stage.

Champion #1: Chloe "No Love" Sevigny.
Champon #2: Christina "Rode Hard" Aguilera.
Winner: Christina "Rode Hard" Aguilera.

Bold choices, I know, but I'm standing by them, even if I don't know how the hell to fill out the brackets.

Even better we're extending the deadline to enter our Fug Madness Contest until this Wednesday, so check out Friday's post for the details and ENTER!

PS: We've taken over The Epic Book Nerd as well as Ya Book Queen blogs today, so be sure to stop on by for a chance to win some pretty cool prizes! See you there!

Fug Madness LiLa Style

So it's a well known fact that one of our most favorite sites to cyberstalk is Go Fug Yourself. Celebs + Bad Fashion + Hilarious Snark = WIN. Anyway, the geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself have come up with the fashionista's answer to March Madness, that's right they pit fashion challenged celebrities against each other  in four Fug Madness brackets "compiled through a very complicated algorithm incorporating approximate level of fame, depth of fug, quantity of fug, and other various intangibles that might include how caffeinated we were at the time."

WIN.

One of our favorite things to do is play along and we thought this year it might be fun to make it interesting. I mean, our husband's bet money with their lame little basketball brackets, why should they get to have all the fun?

So here's how it's going to work:


Everyone who thinks they can predict the Fug Madness 2011 winner ponies up ONE BOOK, leave a comment in this post with the book you will be betting. Please also note that you'll be required to ship this book to the winner.Fill out this form with your predictions for the FINAL FOUR, CHAMPIONSHIP and THE OVERALL WINNER. Here's the bracket that you can download and fill out. You have until Sunday March 20th at 11:59 PM EST to send us an email.The winner of our Fug Madness tournament will receive ALL THE BOOKS. That's right people, winner takes ALL.Just so you know, we'll be betting with a signed copy of The Liar Society, some signed bookmarks AND a finished copy of Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton.
Let us know if you have any questions. And be prepared to get OWNED BY THE SISTERS ROECKER. That's right, trash talk is encouraged in this competition. Bring it.