Lisa Roecker's Blog, page 38

The Liar Society Cover Revealed (For real this time!)

We are beyond excited to share the final cover for THE LIAR SOCIETY with you!

Drum roll please...
TA DA!!!!

Okay, okay, we know what you're thinking...PINK HAIR!?! We were completely shocked too (more on that Monday), but we've officially fallen in love. I mean, how many pink-haired, pearl-rocking, bad ass detectives do YOU know? Yeah, that's what we thought.
And now, it's time to announce the winner of The Liar Society (Under)Cover Contest including:
THE BODY FINDER and DESIRES OF THE DEAD by Kimberly Derting;PRADA AND PREJUDICE and YOU WISH by Mandy Hubbard; PICTURE THE DEAD, THE JULIAN GAME, an ARC of TIGHTER by Adele Griffin;DECEPTION and an ARC of BETRAYAL by Lee Nichols; anda signed ARC of THE LIAR SOCIETY (Um, if you want it signed that is? We still feel sort of weird about defacing books!)
Second round of drum rolls please.........
RACHELE ALPINE!!!!!! 
Rachele, thanks to the random number generator number 278 is now your lucky number. CONGRATULATIONS!
We had over 300 entries (holy crap, right?) and we wanted to give something to ALL of you guys for participating. 
SO...if you're interested in getting an e-mail from Kate's dead bestie that will unlock a super-secret, super-exciting clue hidden in The Liar Society website CLICK HERE. Trust me...you're going to want to see this. Besides, when's the last time you got an e-mail from a dead girl?*
Thanks everyone for helping us make this contest and cover reveal such a HUGE success. And stay tuned for some so-amazing-you're-not-even-gonna-believe-what-we've-got-planned contests coming in February and March.
XOXO,L&L

*Sometimes dead girls' emails end up in SPAM too, so don't forget to check!

The Bookanistas: Across the Universe

It's here, it's here! We can FINALLY talk about Beth Revis' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Okay, now where do we begin?
Let's start with the first chapter. It is, hands down, the best first chapter we have ever read. We loved it so much we read it aloud during our YA book club and the girls were practically drooling, we ask about it every time we go into a bookstore and we had the librarian from our event the other night write down the title so she could use it for the book selection next month! We're stalker-level-obsessed supportive! I guess what we're trying to say is the first chapter blew our mind.
Here's what the back cover has to say:
A Story of Love, Murder, and Madness Aboard an Enormous Spaceship Bound for the Future
Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.
Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.
Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.
Across the Universe is Titanic meets Brave New World.
LiLa's Take:If the first chapter blew our mind, the entire book rocked our world. Yowsers--that's not meant to sound dirty. Moving on. So, Amy makes the decision to stick with her parents and be put to sleep for 300 years (and learns that while her body is frozen, her mind is not. CAN YOU IMAGINE? 300 years of THINKING?), giving the spaceship enough time to make to Centauri Earth, where the selected team of individuals plus the current generation of Godspeed can establish a new life. BUT there's a crimp in the plan when Amy gets woken up 50 years early. 50 years people! And not only that, but she wasn't supposed to survive the thaw--she was the victim of an attempted murder! Thus she is launched into an interplanetary murder mystery all the while trying to navigate the culture of Godspeed, which is very different than the one she left behind. The differences are FASCINATING, you guys. This is the kind of book you devour in a night, feeling all hungover when you realize you have to wait for the next installment. It's a delicious blend of sci-fi (few and far between in YA), mystery and love.
This review would not be complete if we didn't say a little something about Beth. Beth is seriously one of the most supportive authors out there. She truly deserves all that is coming her way and we can't wait to see what she dreams up next. We have our own theories, which we LOVE sharing with people, but we'll leave it up to the professional!

In honor of the AtU release, one lucky commenter will win a brand-spanking new copy fresh from the bookstore. Just leave a comment about what YOU would think about for 300 years.

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:
Elana Johnson celebrates the release of Across the Universe with a giveawayChristine Fonseca gets lost in NightshadeShannon Messenger raves about Like Mandarin with an ARC GiveawayJamie Harrington thinks the outlook is good for The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal BallShelli Johannes-Wells celebrates Harcourt winnersMichelle Hodkin, Carolina Valdez Miller and Shana Silver travel Across the UniverseScott Tracey gets some ClarityMyra McEntire is In The Fort with Beth RevisMegan Miranda falls head over heels for Fall For AnythingBethany Wiggins is living for Three Quarters DeadJen Hayley worships UnearthlyCarrie Harris flips for Hold Me Closer, NecromancerKirsten Hubbard goes crazy for Delirium 

The Bookinistas: Across the Universe

It's here, it's here! We can FINALLY talk about Beth Revis' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Okay, now where do we begin?
Let's start with the first chapter. It is, hands down, the best first chapter we have ever read. We loved it so much we read it aloud during our YA book club and the girls were practically drooling, we ask about it every time we go into a bookstore and we had the librarian from our event the other night write down the title so she could use it for the book selection next month! We're stalker-level-obsessed supportive! I guess what we're trying to say is the first chapter blew our mind.
Here's what the back cover has to say:
A Story of Love, Murder, and Madness Aboard an Enormous Spaceship Bound for the Future
Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.
Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.
Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.
Across the Universe is Titanic meets Brave New World.
LiLa's Take:If the first chapter blew our mind, the entire book rocked our world. Yowsers--that's not meant to sound dirty. Moving on. So, Amy makes the decision to stick with her parents and be put to sleep for 300 years (and learns that while her body is frozen, her mind is not. CAN YOU IMAGINE? 300 years of THINKING?), giving the spaceship enough time to make to Centauri Earth, where the selected team of individuals plus the current generation of Godspeed can establish a new life. BUT there's a crimp in the plan when Amy gets woken up 50 years early. 50 years people! And not only that, but she wasn't supposed to survive the thaw--she was the victim of an attempted murder! Thus she is launched into an interplanetary murder mystery all the while trying to navigate the culture of Godspeed, which is very different than the one she left behind. The differences are FASCINATING, you guys. This is the kind of book you devour in a night, feeling all hungover when you realize you have to wait for the next installment. It's a delicious blend of sci-fi (few and far between in YA), mystery and love.
This review would not be complete if we didn't say a little something about Beth. Beth is seriously one of the most supportive authors out there. She truly deserves all that is coming her way and we can't wait to see what she dreams up next. We have our own theories, which we LOVE sharing with people, but we'll leave it up to the professional!

In honor of the AtU release, one lucky commenter will win a brand-spanking new copy fresh from the bookstore. Just leave a comment about what YOU would think about for 300 years.

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:
Elana Johnson celebrates the release of Across the Universe with a giveawayChristine Fonseca gets lost in NightshadeShannon Messenger raves about Like Mandarin with an ARC GiveawayJamie Harrington thinks the outlook is good for The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal BallShelli Johannes-Wells celebrates Harcourt winnersMichelle Hodkin, Carolina Valdez Miller and Shana Silver travel Across the UniverseScott Tracey gets some ClarityMyra McEntire is In The Fort with Beth RevisMegan Miranda falls head over heels for Fall For AnythingBethany Wiggins is living for Three Quarters DeadJen Hayley worships UnearthlyCarrie Harris flips for Hold Me Closer, NecromancerKirsten Hubbard goes crazy for Delirium 

And the Best Truth Won

Wow. The truths yesterday were nothing short of awesome.

Simon, the heavy favorite going into the competition, astounded us with his criminal acts and then floored us with his obvious disdain for Twizzlers. Be glad you don't live next door to Gail because she wouldn't hesitate to call the police on your ass.

Little Ms. J. wet her pants, while Lola peed with her MacBook (impressive!).

Matt Rush still thinks we're Siamese twins and is going to be extremely let down if he ever meets us and figures out that we're actually just two lame, separate sisters.

Jill Hathaway defaced an ARC of Liar Society (oh the SHAME!). Of course it was all on account of a burrito, so we can't exactly blame her.

Sarah took a nasty spill and Ashley started a charitable action.

Kare almost walked away with the prize for being smart enough to pepper her truths with a rave review of Liar Society. Well played.

Marsha made us laugh out loud (as always), while Jem gave us a visual that will make it pretty much impossible to ever enter the bathroom at Outback Steakhouse without cracking up.

But in the end only one truth could take home the big prize. And it's a truth that's very close to this new mother's heart:


Amber Tidd Murphy said...



truth: I really wanted to win, because i think it like, releases endorphins or something... so i must admit that i am typing one-handed and the other hand is attached to my own boobie... i pumped breastmlik at the same time i emptied my google reader. titilating, i know.

Amber, as a fellow new mother who allegedly dropped her laptop on top of her newborn's head during one particularly traumatic nursing session, I am proud to pronounce you the winner of our first ever Tell the Truth Tuesday contest. You have earned those chocolate covered Twizzlers, my friend. E-mail us your address to collect your delicious prize.

Tell the Truth Tuesday (Plus a once in a lifetime giveaway)

1. Laura was not so secretly worried that I'd hog the spotlight during our first library event last night. She was right to worry.


2. We're TOTAL name droppers. One of the girls asked us point blank if Mandy Hubbard had actually read our book. When we told her that we've exchanged e-mails with her and "know" her on Twitter she was kind of blown away.

3. We planned on taking video and pictures for the post today. We failed.

4. This is the only picture we have.


5. I'm bitter because no one took my picture and I was having the best hair day of my entire life.

6. Laura makes wicked chocolate covered Twizzlers.

7. Chocolate covered Twizzlers = Crack.

8. I've eaten approximately 11 of them.

9. We're giving the rest of them away to one lucky commenter.
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10. Lucky for you, Laura took them home. Otherwise someone would be the lucky winner of a lot of chocolate Twizzler scented plastic wrappers.

Best, most shocking, most hilarious, most entertaining truth wins the Twizzlers. Beyond excited to see what you guys come up with.

LiLa LIVE

So...we have our first ever, real-live, author event scheduled tonight with a Mother-Daughter book club at a local library. We're not gonna lie, we're REALLY excited about it. It combines three of our favorite things--moms (naturally), kids (obviously) and BOOKS (hello!?).

BUT

We're semi-freaking out. What if no one comes? What if we're boring? What if we constantly talk over each other? Oh wait, that's not a what-if. You should have heard our maid of honor speech at Stacey's wedding.

Here are a few things we have planned...
A short readingShort overview of our publication experience, writing processShare our cover journey (and what a journey it's been)Share our book trailer (and some behind-the-scenes pics)Question/AnswerWash down chocolate-covered Twizzlers with Diet CokeAny other ideas? What would you guys want us to talk about if you had the honor of to endure listening to the two of us yammering about writing for 45 minutes.

Laura's praying there's not a podium. Lisa's secretly hoping for a stage.

This is going to be interesting....

Five Things We've Learned This Week

1. We're 99% sure that Laura has some kind of medieval respiratory disease. We've narrowed it down to Typhoid and Consumption. To give you an idea of what we're dealing with over here, watch this:


I'll Always Be With You
Moulin Rouge! at MOVIECLIPS.com
For the record, I'm playing the role of Ewan McGregor over here, only instead of willing Laura to live, I'm begging her to work on our WIP. It's a sad state of affairs.
2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer might have the most gorgeous book cover I've ever laid eyes on. It's a work of art. Must. Read. This. Book.

3. I like to say "Sweet Fancy Moses." A lot. I have no idea where it came from (a tweet perhaps?). But I can't stop saying it. I said it to the kids the other day and they thought it was hilarious.

4. Gwynnie tried to fool us into thinking she's self deprecating and funny.


Nice try. We're still not gonna sit through Country Strong.

5. Role reversal is a bitch. Yesterday Laura was all mopey and crabby and pessimistic. It. Was. Awful. Laura is supposed to be the glass-is-half-full-sister and I'm the you-better-freaking-fill-my-glass-NOW sister. It's just how we roll. Not surprisingly, I SUCK at cheering people up. I was all, "Screw it! It's fine! Want me to kick their ass for you?" "I'll take phrases that aren't even remotely comforting for $500, Alex."
So, yeah, the first week of 2011 was kind of a mixed bag. What did you guys learn this week? Can't wait to hear your life lessons in the comments. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!  

The Bookanistas: Sweet XVI

You guys might remember me being glued to a book back when I was giving birth to Ben a few months ago. Trust me when I say there aren't many books that can hold your attention while you're delivering an 8 and a half pound baby, but XVI is one of them. 
Here's what the back cover has to say: Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world - even the most predatory of men - that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past - one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

LiLa's Take: XVI is a completely fresh take on a dystopian society. The thought provoking premise and choices that the characters make throughout the novel will spark some pretty fascinating discussions about gender politics and sexual freedom in young and old readers alike. Can't wait to hear what others think of this page turner!
It's 2011 and The Bookanistas are back with a BANG! Check out the books they're celebrating in the new year:
Michelle Hodkin gushes about The Near WitchElana Johnson schools us on The Education of Hailey KendrickChristine Fonseca raves about WitherShannon Messenger travels Across the Universe with a special giveawayShelli Johannes-Wells gets Lost in the River of GreenScott Tracey falls in love with Across the UniverseBeth Revis is captivated by Prisoners in the PalaceCarolina Valdez Miller is mesmerized by The Healing SpellMegan Miranda takes a peek through The Marbury LensShana Silver is digging DeliriumJamie Harrington tells the truth about The Liar SocietyJen Hayley dies for a Touch MortalBethany Wiggins dotes on Paranormalcy

WTF Wednesday: A Conversation with LiLa

Laura: Oh look! Kim Kardashian sings now.
Lisa: Of course she does.
Laura: And Gwynie had post partum depression, It's brave of her to talk about it, but suspiciously close to the release date of that wretched country twang movie she's got coming out.
Lisa: Did she put it on GOOP? She loves blabbing on GOOP.
Laura: Probably. GOOP totally ruined Gwyneth for me. I used to like her.
Lisa: Never liked her. She's always so pleased with herself. It's hard to like someone who seems pleased with themselves 24/7.
Laura: She was fine preGOOP. Stop being mean.
Lisa: Speaking of mean, did you hear Mila Kunis and Mikauley Mickally Macaulay Culkin broke up.
Laura: Um...I didn't even know they were together.
Lisa: The breakup did inspire the best tweet I've ever read though. So that's something.
Laura: True. Did you hear about the dead birds falling out of the sky and the dead fish washing to shore in Arkansas?
Lisa: You love Yahoo News.
Laura: Where else can I read about the worst cities for bed bugs, hidden health club dangers and lottery myths in one place?
Lisa: Good point.
Laura: Anyway, the bird deaths got me thinking. If the end of the world is coming and Kim Kardashian has a single out and Leann Rimes got her boobs done, I think I might go back and get those boots.
Lisa: Good call. They were a steal.
Laura: You're not paying any attention to me, are you?
Lisa: Nope.
Laura: You're refreshing GoodReads again, aren't you?
Lisa: Yup.
Laura: STOP!
Lisa: Can't. Addicted. Someone is on p. 93 of Liar Society. What if they stop reading? What if they give it one star? I HAVE TO KNOW.
Laura: Sweet holy moses, this is worse than StatCounter.
Lisa: Damn straight. And you can't change the password on me.
Laura: We're never going to finish the WIP.
Lisa: Nope.

Tell the Truth Tuesday

1. One of my aunts gave my kids all these huge candy bars on New Years Day. My husband tried to throw them away in an effort to detox after New Years and I, um, rescued them from the garbage. I'm eating one as I type this post. What? They were just on top of some junk mail. People are starving! I couldn't let good chocolate go to waste.

2. Ben slept 12 hours last night, but sadly I still got my standard 5 hours of sleep because I didn't go to bed until 1 AM and he woke up at 6:30 AM. Yeah.

3. Our theory that signing a really annoying e-mail with the word, "Kisses!" will make the recipient less annoyed has not held up.

4. Whenever we're put in situations where we have to either laugh or cry, we almost always cry a little and then laugh our asses off.

5. You know what's embarrassing? When you e-mail your agent so many times in one night that your e-mail breaks out the auto-SPAM checker to make sure you're not a SpamBot. Yeah.
Ok, spill. What's your truth this Tuesday?