Amy Plum's Blog, page 21
January 21, 2013
CONTEST MONDAY – An ARC of THE RUINING
I have something exciting to give away this week. Remember when I told you that my friend Anna Collomore got a starred Kirkus review and we were falling all over ourselves with amazement and respect?
Well that book is coming out in just a couple of weeks (Feb. 7) and Anna very generously offered my readership the chance to win an ARC (advance reader copy). This one is going to be U.S. only since that’s where Anna’s stock of books is being kept (while she is being kept in Paris just across town from me!).
So check the cover:
Isn’t it awesomely creepy? And here’s the description:
Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.
All too soon cracks appear in Annie’s seemingly perfect world. She’s blamed for mistakes she doesn’t remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she’s always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie’s fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play?
The Ruining is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.
I can’t wait to read it!!
So: to win the ARC of THE RUINING by Anna Collomore, all you have to do is show her some love. 
Follow her on Twitter: @annacollomore
Friend her on FB: https://www.facebook.com/anna.collomore
Follow her on Tumbler: http://annacollomore.com/
Tell me in the comments below how many of those you did, and you’ll have your name put in the hat up to 3 times for a random drawing. Again, this is U.S. only. (But you foreigners could always have the book sent to one of your American friends!)
24 hours, and….GO!
January 17, 2013
Playlist suggestions for those not on Spotify
Got a note from Mexico saying they can’t get Spotify. For those of you who aren’t able to access the list of songs suggested for the IF I SHOULD DIE playlist, here it is:
Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
Skillet – Comatose
Florence + The Machine – Seven Devils
Graham Colton – Best Days
Papa Roach – Forever
Coldplay – The Scientist
Ashes Remain – Everything Good
Morgan Page – Addicted feat. Greg Laswell
Ohasis – Wonderwall
Lamb – Gorecki
Radiohead – No Surprises
Von Benzo – Sad dead me
Christina Perri – A Thousand Years – feat. Steve Kazee [Part 2]
Renaud – Mon Bistrot Préféré
We Are The Fallen – Burn
Fun. – Carry On
Evanescence – Hello
The Veronicas – Speechless
The Script – No Words
Florence + The Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
Let The Music Play – I Don’t Do Surprises
Dead By Sunrise – Into You
P!nk – Glitter In The Air
Rachel Diggs – Hands of Time
Evanescence – Bring Me To Life
My Darkest Days – Save Me
Breaking Benjamin – Breath
Papa Roach – No Matter What
One Direction – They Don’t Know About Us
Flogging Molly – If I Ever Leave This World Alive
Charlene Soraia – Wherever You Will Go
Deine Lakaien – Love Me To The End
Clap Compagnie – La valse d’amélie – Amélie Poulain
Lana Del Rey – Dark Paradise
Plumb – Hang On
James Morrison – I Won’t Let You Go
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Your Guardian Angel
Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
Jimmy Eat World – Hear You Me
Missy Higgins – All For Believing
Rascal Flatts – Bless The Broken Road
Céline Dion – Because You Loved Me
Sarah McLachlan – Answer
Josh Groban – Remember – From “Troy” Soundtrack Album Version
Mötley Crüe – If I Die Tomorrow
Alex Goot – Lightning
Westlife – Soledad
Foo Fighters – Everlong
Adele – Crazy For You (album)
Secondhand Serenade – Fall for You
Sleeping At Last – Turning Page
Jack Johnson – Angel
Florence + The Machine – Never Let Me Go
OneRepublic – Secrets
Nickelback – Savin’ Me
He Is We – Our July In The Rain
Coldplay – Fix You
The Civil Wars – C’est La Mort
Avril Lavigne – When You’re Gone
Charice – All That I Need To Survive
Christina Perri – arms
Marianas Trench – Beside You
Top 100 Hits – Breath of Life – Florence + the Machine
Coldplay – Paradise
Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends
Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes
Kari Kimmel – Black
Jason Mraz – I Won’t Give Up
Bruno Mars – Talking To The Moon
Avril Lavigne – Wish You Were Here
Miley Cyrus – Stay
Digital Daggers – Fear the Fever
Grégoire – Toi + Moi
The Wanted – I Found You
Florence + The Machine – Cosmic Love
Kelly Clarkson – Dark Side
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Ashes Remain – On My Own
Adam Lambert – Time For Miracles
BarlowGirl – Never Alone – Best Of
Bruno Mars – Locked Out Of Heaven
Band of Horses – The Funeral
3 Doors Down – Here Without You
Plumb – Blush (Only You)
Kate Walsh – Your Song
Florence + The Machine – You’ve Got The Love
Tonight Alive – To Die For
Westlife – I’ll See You Again
Taylor Swift – Eyes Open
Kelly Clarkson – Beautiful Disaster – Live
Red – Faceless
Nickelback – Far Away
Band of Horses – No One’s Gonna Love You
Des’ree – I’m Kissing You
Adele – To Make You Feel My Love
Rihanna – Diamonds
Lifehouse – By Your Side
Kerrie Roberts – Rescue Me (How The Story Ends)
Flyleaf – Arise
Erin McCarley – What I Needed
Regina Spektor – The Call – Live In London
Avril Lavigne – I Love You
Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On
The Narrative – Castling (Acoustic)
Jason Walker – Echo
Liquid Hits – Stars
Evanescence – Lost in Paradise
Lifehouse – Broken
The Perishers – Sway
Naomi Scott – She’s So Gone
Adele – Set Fire To The Rain
Neko Case – I Wish I Was the Moon
Cider Sky – Northern Lights
January 16, 2013
Spotify List for IF I SHOULD DIE suggestions
Alright I have compiled your suggestions for the IF I SHOULD DIE playlist. Since I specified only one song, for those who gave me several songs, I took the first song you listed. If that one was already taken by someone else, I put the second song on your list, etc.
For the complete list of your suggestions, click here or copy and paste spotify:user:1223747598 into your web browser’s url field.
The following were not in Spotify, but some have links:
A la Vie a la Mort, Nolwenn Leroy
Forever and always by Parachute
If i should die by Big Krit
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart” by Eli Young Band
Broken Pieces – Apocalyptica ft. Lacey
My Darkest Days – Still Worth Fighting For
The Titantic song by Celine Dion
Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute (this is already the theme for UNTIL I DIE)
Til the Casket Drops by ZZ Ward
Memories That Fade Like Photographs- All Time Low
Don’t You Dare – Alexz Johnson
In The Mourning by Paramore
‘Heart on Fire’ by Jonathan Clay
Better Dig Two by the Band Perry
Real Emotion by Sweetbox
Give Me A Sign de Breaking Benjamin
Rosi Golan featuring William Fitzsimmons – Hazy
Just Perfect by Tracy Bonham
Wherever you will go by Charlene Soraia.
State of Grace by Taylor Swift.
I’ll find you by Kerli
Now I have to actually listen to all of them! (It might take a few more days.)
If you haven’t already seen the UNTIL I DIE trailer (or even if you have and want to watch it again) here it is:
January 11, 2013
DIE FOR HER
Want to see something pretty?
How about the cover of DIE FOR HER?
Ta da!!!
And here is the official summary:
Set in the romantic and death-defying world of the international bestselling Die for Me trilogy, this digital original novella follows Jules, a brooding, immortal French artist who has fallen in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.
Jules Marchenoir is a revenant-an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save human lives. He’s spent the better part of the last century flirting his way through Paris, but when he met Kate Mercier, the heroine from Amy Plum’s Die for Me trilogy, he knew his afterlife had changed forever and he had found the love of his life. Until Kate fell for his best friend, Vincent. Now Jules is faced with an impossible decision: choosing between his loyal friend and a love truly worth dying for.
Finished on Christmas day, this e-book will be available on April 2 – one month before IF I SHOULD DIE is released. You can already order it here for $1.99!!
January 7, 2013
IF I SHOULD DIE playlist contest
Though it may seem I’ve been dormant the last couple of weeks, I assure you I am 100% reanimated and ready to start 2013 with my first CONTEST MONDAY!!!
I want to start gathering together songs for the IF I SHOULD DIE playlist. Everyone can submit 1 song that they think would be a good match for IF I SHOULD DIE. I realize you haven’t read it yet, but think action-packed thriller with a good dose of mystery and romance and maybe some heartbreak. A cinch, no?
I will leave this open for a week so that you can have time to think about it. I will choose around 10 songs for the list (of course I have a few of my own I want to use in addition). Everyone who gets their song on the list will win a signed bookmark or signed bookplate. But the one song I choose as the book’s theme song will win an ARC of IF I SHOULD DIE.
I’ll give you guys 1 week to enter your suggestions in the comments below. One entry per person. This is international, as usual. On your marks…get your headphones on…and GO!
(Make sure your song isn’t already on the UNTIL I DIE playlist or DIE FOR ME playlist! If it is, I will let you vote below a second time!)
December 22, 2012
I’m Kicking off the EpicReads Author Takeover
Christmas ribbon on BHV
Epic Reads is letting its authors take over its blog during the holidays, and they asked me to kick the week off!
I chose to give a guided tour of Paris’s Christmas lights, and also chose a special Paris-related gift that you can win if you leave a comment on EpicReads page.
Head on over to see it here.
.
December 13, 2012
Research Road Trip
In case you’d been wondering why I’ve been on complete internet blackout this week, I am WORKING. Hard. But not in one of my usual batcaves. This time I’m on a 5-day research related road-trip. And the first person who guesses the closest town to where I am in the photo above wins a hardback U.S. copy of UNTIL I DIE.
Since I’m flying back to Paris on Sunday/Monday, this will be CONTEST MONDAY, and I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday, 10am Paris time. One entry each, leave your guess below. International, as usual.
(I know…I know – this is impossible. But it’s more fun than using Randomizer!)
December 10, 2012
CONTEST MONDAY presents AE Rought and BROKEN
Today I have the pleasure of hosting AE Rought on today’s CONTEST MONDAY. And up for grabs is an ARC of her upcoming book BROKEN, released in January by Strange Chemistry.
My very own blurb : “Death, kissing, and a smoking hot mystery boy in a hoodie: what more could you ask for?”
Well, one other thing you could ask for is an absolutely amazing cover:
And a fascinating plot:
Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.
“A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his specter in the moonlight and the fog.
When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely…familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks.
And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.”
Intrigued? Well all you have to do to be eligible for the ARC of BROKEN is follow Ann on FB and Twitter, and then tell me below in the comments that you did both. Ann approved of my regular “international” rule, so is ready to send the book anywhere in the world. We’ll do a 24-hour time limit, but since I will be in an airplane in exactly 24 hours, I’m going to let Ann announce the winner here in the comments. Scan the comments below for Ann’s announcement of the winner. And…GO!
December 7, 2012
Salon du Livre, Montreuil (Montreuil book fair)
I could write you pages and pages about the time I spent at the Montreuil Children’s book festival, but since I’m on KILLER DEADLINE I will just pop photos in with a few captions. Montreuil is on the eastern edge of Paris, and this book fair was THE HUGEST THING I’VE EVER BEEN TO. As in, massive. Here we go…
Here I am at the opening night cocktail party. Note...coat is off because it is BOILING in the convention center. My date was a very cute politics professor from Canada who I met at PAF.
A view of a tiny itsy bitsy corner of one floor of the book fair.
Opening night cocktail party madness. Again...just one tiny corner. Best part of the party was when some random woman came up and gave my date enthusiastic cheek-kisses and then realized she didn't know him from Adam.
Dinner with my editors Chloe Moncomble and Anne Blanchard, my translator Marie Cambolieu, and writers Malorie Blackman and Amelie Sarn. Did I remember to take a photo of them? No. I took a photo of my eggplant-cardamom crepe instead.
Here is the VIP room on Saturday. This is a stealth photo (that's why it's blurry) because you're usually not supposed to take pics in VIP rooms. Something about respecting people's privacy, blah blah. This is the room where I ran into Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs, as well as CJ Daugherty. VIP rooms are the best for running into people (and for free coffee and snacks).
Did I mention how excruciatingly hot it was? I was in a sleeveless dress and I was sweating. The poor guy who had to sign books wearing the mouse suit should have been given an award or something. Like a knighthood.
Amelie Sarn, my editor Chloe Moncomble, and Malorie Blackman before our signing.
Amelie, me and Malorie before our signing.
Me signing books. I brought UNTIL I DIE and IF I SHOULD DIE to show the French readers what was coming next. (UNTIL I DIE will be in French Jan 2013 and IF I SHOULD DIE June 2013.)
Amelie hanging with Anne Blanchard (DIE FOR ME's editor) and Chloe (the big cheese editor)
Two of my French readers, Morgane and Blandine at the signing. Morgane is the one who did the awesome fingernail art in my ARC contest.
Me with French fan Laetitia who I already loved for coming to all my signings, but love even more now because she brought me chocolate!
I heart my readers and my French publishing team at Milan Jeunesse/Macadam!
