Tracy Deebs's Blog, page 12

And the winner is...

SamjamG is the winner of the Cold Kiss ARC giveaway! Thanks everyone for leaving a comment. Come back next week for another chance to win on our Contest Wednesdays.

Cold Kiss Signed ARC Giveaway

There are all types of kisses: the butterfly kiss, the eskimo kiss, the air kiss, not to forget the granddaddy of them all, the delectable French kiss (surprisingly, the French call this "the English kiss"). But today we're talking about cold kisses. No, this is not a Twilight post.

Amy Garvey's YA debut, Cold Kiss, comes out in September, and I was lucky enough to snag a signed advance reader's copy which I'm giving away to one lucky commenter today. Cold Kiss is the story of love and loss and zombies--sort of. Not Shaun of the Dead, brain-eating zombies, but, well, like this:

Four months ago, Danny died. In a heartbroken fury, Wren used her mysterious powers to bring him back--never thinking that the Danny who returned would be just a cold shell of the boy she fell in love with. Now, Wren is struggling to hide the not-quite-living but definitely not dead Danny from the world. As she begins to lose control over what she has wrought and everything in her life starts to spiral into chaos, Wren realizes that she must find a way to make things right--even if it means breaking her heart.

Heartwrenching, right? Obsessive love, impossible choices--my kind of book. If you'd like to read it, too, leave a comment and tell me your favorite adjective to describe a kiss. Mine is delicious. Mmmm.

Summer Days Driftin' Away

Though the thermostat says otherwise, and probably will for a while, according to the school calendar, summer is quickly coming to an end. No other time of year so defines our memories of idyllic childhood—long days, bare feet, fireflies, and family vacations. It's an annual pause in the relentless forward march toward inevitable adulthood and the never-ending responsibilities to come. For my family, summer means three things: water park, fireworks, and musicals.

In Texas, summer comes early and stays late. By the time school let's out the first week of June, the daily highs are usually in the 90s and the best way to cool of is in the water, of course. We head to Schlitterbahn – the hottest, coolest time in Texas. If you've never heard of this place, half-way between Austin and San Antonio, it's the best water park in America. Tube rides, slides and giant pools cluster under hundred years old oak and cypress trees along the spring-fed Comal River. I've been making an almost annual pilgrimmage to Schilitterbahn to start my summer since Ronald Reagan was president, and that's how my family still kicks off summer today.

Fourth of July is the holiday of summer. We leave city living behind us and head for the hills. Literally. The Texas Hill Country is just that—hills carved by rivers and streams, dotted with quaint country towns. We load up our travel trailer (no, we're not 80, we just travel like we are) and meet our friends for a weekend of non-stop barbecue, homemade ice cream, swimming, tossing horseshoes (this is Texas) and naps in the hammock. For three days, there's no TV or email and if you hike about an hour to the top of the nearest hill you might get a bar of signal on your cell phone. It's unplugged paradise for the adults and a parental-supervision-lite utopia for the kiddos. All of which culminates in an evening of writing your name in the air with sparklers and a firework display the dads coordinate, and the moms bet who's going to lose a finger first

By August, the heat has slowed everything down to just above a crawl, and not even sunset offers much relieve. But it does give you the best free show in Austin: the Zilker Summer Musical. It's the last big event before school starts and has been going on for 53 years. We take a blanket, a cooler, and plant ourselves on the park's hillside under the stars to watch the show. This year's production was Footloose (didn't I just have a hankering for this movie?) and even though it was at least 100 degrees until ten o'clock, the dancing was awesome, the music infectious, and the crowd appreciative. For me there's no better way to cap off the season--though some rain would be nice.

How 'bout y'all? Any annual summer traditions you just have to do?

New Excerpt from Tempest Unleashed

I know this isn't the day for it, but it's been a week from hell, so here's a new excerpt from Tempest Unleashed to tide you over ...

Flexing my hands, I relaxed, let go of my natural barriers.  Then nearly screamed as something bright and powerful shot out of nearly every pore in my body—and straight at the five men who surrounded me.They screamed, pushed backwards, but it was too late.  The one holding my hand gasped and then his grasp loosened.  I watched, in horror, as his eyes went blank and he slowly, so slowly, started to float away from me—carried by the ocean's currents rather than his own power.I stared at him for one, long second, horrified by the idea that I had killed him.  He wasn't the first person I'd killed since being in the Pacific—I'd been forced to kill one of Kona's friends not long after I'd discovered the underwater world.   This time it wasn't any easier, despite the fact that shark man had been trying to kill me just as Malu had.Even as the thought was forming, even as I was grieving at what I had become, I was turning, prepared to meet any other threat head on.  But there was no other threat—the other two men who had been touching me were also dead, their eyes wide and vacant as the ocean slowly carried them away.  The last two hadn't been hurt by my strange, new power—or at least they didn't look hurt as they swam away from me as quickly as they could.I watched them go, but then my self-preservation instinct kicked in.  Who said they really were running away?  Maybe they were just going for reinforcements.  And if that was the case, I certainly didn't want to be caught standing here waiting for them like an imbecile.            I started to swim away from them, glancing around for something familiar to prove to me that I was going in the right direction.  There was nothing—no trench, no oyster bed, nothing but the feeling that I was heading where I needed to be.              As I swam, I tried to catalogue how I was feeling.  My throat hurt, my stomach hurt, my head hurt—but I wasn't sure if that was because I had gotten hurt in the struggle or simply because I was doing my best not to cry.  The tears were right there, behind my eyes and clogging up my throat, but I wouldn't give in to them.  Not this time.              Yes, I had killed three people, and no matter how sick that fact made me, I had to live with it.  If I hadn't lashed out at them, if my power hadn't done that weird electric thing, I wouldn't have stood a chance against them.  And I could be assured that they would not have experienced the same attack of conscience at my demise that I was suffering at theirs.            And speaking of my powers, what had happened back there?  I knew that I could call down lightning and cause storms, knew that I could blast out at people with bursts of energy.  But this latest thing—this electric thing—was new.  Not to mention creepy in the extreme.            I shivered, and for the first time I realized I was still trembling.  And not just trembling, but shaking violently.  Adrenaline? I wondered, because God knew I had enough of the stuff coursing through my body to power a small city.              But this didn't feel like the crash after an adrenaline rush.  This just felt … awful. Like I was slogging through mud with every swish of my hands and flip of my tail.              My eyes started to close against my will, and that's when I realized how tired I was, my whole body assailed by a bone-deep weariness.  What was wrong with me?  Was it the fight?  The electric thing?  The fact that I had killed three people?            Or was it something else entirely?            For the first time since I'd gotten away, I realized that my tail was hurting.  Glancing back at it, I froze as I realized there was blood in the water around me.  A lot of blood.  And it was pouring out of a long, jagged cut in the center of my tail.            One of Tiamat's henchmen had stabbed me.  
Hope you enjoy!

Modern food coupon

Usually, we writers stick close to home, but Monday was one of the weird days when I planned to be out all day. It started with plans to drive my guy to work and was just busy, busy, busy from there. The snag? I forgot my purse at home.And, with all the busy-ness planned, I just couldn't drive home to get it. So my guy gave me the twenty in his wallet when I dropped him off, and I was (I hoped!) set for the day. True, I felt naked without my cell phone or my wallet, but surely I could make it through the day. I didn't have any shopping to do. My car didn't need gas. All I had to do really was feed myself and get home in time for dinner. I'm a little disgusted with myself to admit this, but I wasn't sure a twenty would be enough.$2.55 for a bagel and shmear, plue $2.05 for a mug of joe later and I was even less sure. I was now down to fifteen dollars for lunch. But I needed somewhere I could sit with my laptop and squeeze in some work for several hours in the afternoon. Maybe I could have made a run for the border and hung at Taco Bell for about five bucks, but I also needed wifi. Panera came to my rescue. Eleven bucks later for a premium salad and an iced tea and I was set for the day. I made it home, strangely proud of the three dollars plus change in my pocket. But a little embarrassed too. I'd once laughed at a friend who referred to a twenty dollar bill as the modern food coupon. "You are such a single guy!" I told him. Now, I can't help thinking my grandmother would be ashamed of me. She lived on $20 a week back in the thirties when she and my grandfather first married and she never misses an opportunity to tell me about it.So how far can you go $20?Since we missed yesterday's hump day contest, I'll pick one person to win a copy of my latest book.

Just Can't Help Falling In Love

I was all set for a different post today, but then something happened over the weekend that demanded something else. I fell in love.

The object of my affection is elusive, but when it appears the feeling is magical. A quixotic blend of disbelieve that I've found it and fragile hope that this won't be the last time. That what happened on Saturday afternoon was not an isolated incident, and that another will follow, and another one after that.

I'm speaking of course about a decent romantic comedy. If you have not yet seen Crazy, Stupid, Love I beg you to stop what you're doing right now, and run, don't walk, to your nearest cineplex. After years of subpar romcon offerings with Katherine Heigl overload I'd feared this sub-genre's glory days were behind us. Last year was bar none the worst year for this theatric sub-genre maybe ever. Other than Date Night, which had comedy heavyweights Steve Carrell and Tina Fey to lift it up, the offerings were dismal. Anybody see The Switch? When in Rome? The Backup Plan? I haven't even bothered with these on NetFlix.

But Crazy, Stupid, Love gives me hope for a renaissance. The characters are wonderful and real; the situations are laughable, sometimes sad, but always heartfelt; and the dialogue sparkles. I'm such a sucker for really witty dialogue. I won't give away the awesome twists and turns of this well-written, well-crafted flick, but I assure you Ryan Gosling's abs are just the icing on the cake. And, by-the-way, Kevin Bacon is holding up remarkably well, too. Seeing these two in the same movie makes me want to pull out Footloose and The Notebook and curl up for an afternoon of deliciousness. Oh, and Dirty Dancing, too—see the movie and you'll know why.

Seen it yet? Did you love it?

Winner of Title Contest

AmandaB is the winner of the renaming Zero Day contest.  Congratulations!  Drop me an email at tracydeebs@gmail.com and let me know which gift card you want and I will order it right away :)  And to everyone who submitted a title suggestion, thanks so, so much!  As soon as my editor makes the final decision, I'll let you know what it is!

Books I'm Reading This Summer

Hi Everyone :)  Tracy again!   Friday is going to be my regularly scheduled blog day from now on, which means you might actually get a regular blog from me, LOL-- or at least, that's my hope.

I loved Emily's blog yesterday, especially the book part, so I thought I'd take a couple of minutes and let you know what YA books I have been devouring this summer.

Early in the summer, I fell in love with Veronica Roth's Divergent.  She gives us a really interesting heroine and a futuristic, dystopin world that absolutely fascinated me.

Sophie Jordan's Firelight.  I did the whole Chills and Thrills Teen Book Tour with Sophie Jordan this summer and had so much fun with her-- she's such a great person.  In preparationg for book two in the series, I reread Firelight, which was just as good the second time around!

Fins are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs, because, as you know, I love me a mermaid book ;)  This one is just as fun and lighthearted as Forgive My Fins and just as wild a ride!

Jenny Han's series, Summer series.  I devoured these three books, starting with The Summer I Turned Pretty, in about two days-- while on deadline.  Which says a whole lot about how much I liked them!

Kody Keplinger's The Duff, which ended up being a really great love story, despite the title and marketing.  The narrator had a great voice and it was a really enjoyable read.

Oh, and since I'm in the middle of writing Tempest Unleashed, I did just go back and read Tempest Rising for the first time since I wrote it, to make sure I've got Tempest's voice down (she's a lot different than Pandor, obviously ;)

So that's some of what I've been reading this summer.  How about you?  What are you reading?

Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Emily McKay!

Introductions are always a little awkward, aren't they?Even more so when you're just sitting there minding your own business, checking out the blog of one of your favorite YA authors, and then, out of no where, this new person dashes up, sticks her hand out and introduces herself. "Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Emily McKay!"
Oh. Right. You're probably thinking. Tracy mentioned some friend of hers might be dropping by.
Yes, I'm that friend. And from now on, I'll be hanging out here a bit. So here's a quick introduction so you can get to know me.
(Btw, I think it's always awkward when people interview themselves, so think of this as more of a survey.)
What I write: I write romance novels for Harlequin Desire, YA rom-com (along with Tracy and Shellee) as Ivy Adams, and I just recently sold a paranormal YA to Berkley ... but more on that soon.
What I'm reading now: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I wanted to reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before the last movie came out, but that just made me want to reread the other books. So I am.
Books I've read this summer (besides the Harry Potter books): Tracy's fabulous Tempest Rising, Amanda Hocking's Trylle trilogy, Susie Day's My Invisible Boyfriend (totally charming), Rebecca Stead's outstanding When You Reach Me, Grace Burrow's The Heir. Man, I've been reading a lot. I should really work more!
Movie I'm most looking forward to: Crazy, Stupid Love. Is it wrong that I'd go see that movie just for Ryan Gosling's pecs?
Favorite food: Lately, hamburgers. Bad for the environment, I know. But, hey, it's summer.
Favorite dessert: Anything lemony. Preferably in the form of cheesecake.
Favorite TV show: Big Bang Theory and Modern Family
What I'm listening to: INXS's "Beautiful Girl"
Now, since introductions shouldn't be one-sided, if you're a regular reader, tell me something about yourself. I'll pick one person to win a five dollar gift card from Amazon.

First Wednesday Contest

Hi everyone :)  My new blog partners and I decided to have a contest every Wednesday, to help get everyone through Hump Day (in the summer it's not so important, but once schoool starts again, I'm always struggling to get to the weekend right around this time). 

I am very excited to be the one with the first contest, because I really need your help!  As you know, because I've been talking about it incessantly, I have a Pandora book coming out next year.  Anyway, I just heard from my editor that no one in sales likes the title, Zero Day, so I have to change it.  And since that was my second title, my first title, Unplugged, also got nixed, I'm in desperate need of help.  So, you guessed it, I need help finding a title for the book and am throwing myself on your mercy.

Here's the blurb: 

Pandora opens an email from her long-lost father on her seventeenth birthday and gets a lot more than she bargained for-- namely an attachment that uploads a worm to her computer and starts the countdown on technological armaggedon.  As she and two friends, the gorgeous Eli and Theo, follow a scavenger hunt of clues of her father's making in an effort to find him and save the world, they face-off against everything from the FBI to a motorcycle gang bent on murder and mayhem to a massive tornado and the twisted mind of a madman,  not to mention the very real threat of nuclear annihilation.

It's just a little different than Tempest, lol, but just as fun to write (and read, I hope).  Anyway, the rules of the contest are: for every title suggestion you make for the book formerly known as Zero Day, I will enter you in a contest for a twenty-five dollar gift card to either Barnes and Noble or the Apple Store-- whichever you'd prefer.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!  The contest runs through Friday :)