Beth Revis's Blog, page 15

LIVE Interview with Andrea Cremer + Win Snakeroot!

This Monday, December 9th, I have the very great pleasure of interviewing my dear friend Andrea Cremer at Booktalk Nation. You can see the interview LIVE--and add your own questions to the mix. Andrea and I will be discussing her latest novel, SNAKEROOT, and I'm totally going to sneak in a few questions for her other works, too.

Additionally, we're giving one person a copy of SNAKEROOT--to win, you'll have to answer a question, so to make sure you win, listen to the whole interview!


SNAKEROOT continues the world of NIGHTSHADE, and has all the classic Andrea elements: smexy people doing awesome things, paranormal adventures, and more!

Make sure you tune in to the interview:

Andrea Cremer Interviewon Booktalk NationMonday, December 97:00pm EST
Also! You can order signed, personalized books by either Andrea or I through Booktalk Nation--pre-orders accepted before the interview and will be open for a very short window after.

A Date With a Dress

I have been a fan of These Broken Stars  for so long that I find it sort of boggling that the entire world hasn't read it yet--although, of course, that's probably due to the fact that it's not quite out yet. The book is released in America next Tuesday, and I really hope you check it out! 
In fact, I loved the book so much, I blurbed it:

Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I've been waiting for! Action, romance, twists and turns--this book has it all!

It has all my favorites:

          ✓ A giant spaceship
          ✓ Pretty stars
          ✓ Alternating POVs, and both protags have an excess of sass
          ✓ A twisty end I didn't see coming at ALL
          ✓ A philosophical edge that is just brilliant
          ✓ A beautiful, beautiful dress

Don't believe me on that last one? Check out this beautiful cover:


RIGHT? ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?! Which is why, when Meg and Amie said that they actually had the dress that is on the cover, and that they would let me take it out for a spin, I knew I had to do something special. I mean, come on! This is the literal, actual, REAL dress that was REALLY used on their book cover!!! (You can even see it in some of the behind-the-scenes photos here!)

I had to take it to a castle.


The Biltmore House is America's largest home, and the closest thing to a castle that I have. Meg and I headed up there on a cold November day to take the beautiful dress from the book cover on a very special date.

There was no way I was getting into that dress--I was terribly afraid of ripping it or messing it up! I don't have the grace of Sooz Dennard or Diana Peterfreund, who did--but fortunately, I happened to know another Diana, one that looked over the Biltmore House.


And let me tell you, she looked hawt.


We were so afraid of being kicked out for doing this!
Can't you just imagine her jumping out of a spaceship, with a hot soldier right on her heels?

Of course I posed with her--and of course I'm wearing my starry tights! You guys can see how long the dress is from this pic, but you wouldn't believe how silky smooth and flowing it was. I could not resist taking it for a bit of a dance in the lawn in front of the fanciest house I know of.

I was pretty awkward...



...especially in the spins...


...but the dress was gorgeous.


We totally became besties. 

This was such an awesome experience, and I'm so glad Meg and Amie let me take their book cover dress on such a wonderful date!

And I have to say--it's had a very busy week!
On Monday, Marie Lu took it to see a snowman--in CaliforniaOn Tuesday, Diana Peterfreund wore it in an enchanted forestOn Wednesday, Leigh Bardugo took it on a movie dateOn Thursday, Susan Dennard posed for her own book cover with the dress
And as of next Tuesday, you can have the dress, too--or at least, the image of it on your book cover. AND if you pre-order the book, you also get a free poster!

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are longtime friends and sometime flatmates who have traveled the world (but not yet the galaxy), covering every continent between them. They are sure outer space is only a matter of time. Meagan, who is also the author of the Skylark trilogy, currently lives in Asheville, NC, while Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia. Although they currently live apart, they are united by their love of space opera, road trips, and second breakfasts.

Visit the These Broken Stars website for the latest news on the series and follow the authors on Twitter at @AmieKaufman and@MeaganSpooner. 

You may also sign up for their newsletter as well! These Broken Stars will be available in North America onDecember 10, 2013.

A Sci-Fi Lover's Gift Giving Guide

It's Black Friday! And I'm itching to go out to one of the sales even though (a) I hate crowds and (b) there's nothing I really want anyway. Also (c) have I mentioned I hate crowds? So, instead of doing any of that, I'm going to make up a gift-giving guide from the comfort of my couch--while I watch Doctor Who, natch!

For the Sci Fi Novice Firefly BluRay: $26.99
My friendship test is based on how much you love this short-lived television series.It's about being bad guys in space, and I love it.
____________________________________________________
For the Aspiring SF Writer Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, $24.95
This book is done mostly as an interview with Russell T. Davies, lead writer for Doctor Who in the reboot series. If you love the show, it's a fascinating peek into the behind the scenes. And if you're a writer, it's a fascinating peek at the process. Definitely worth a read.
____________________________________________________
For the Fashionista Sci Fi Geek Circuitry Cuff Bracelet, $25
I totally got this bracelet to wear on tour for my next book.
____________________________________________________
For the Coffee-Drinking Sci Fi Nerd Ray gun rocket mug, $8.52
Fact: Coffee tastes better when you can point it at someone and say, "pew, pew, pew."
____________________________________________________
For the Tea-Drinking Sci Fi Nerd Rocket ship tea infuser, $9.62
Fact: Tea tastes better when it comes from a rocket ship.Bonus points if you make very hot Earl Grey. 
____________________________________________________
For the Sci Fi Girl You Really, REALLY Like R2-D2 Ring, $1,595.00
Hint, hint.
____________________________________________________
For the Spaceship Captain with Free Space on the Rocketship Walls Fire is Catching Print, $5
Megan Lara is one of my favorite artists--and she has a huge variety of prints available from all the wonderful nerdy things I love--Doctor Who, Firefly, Harry Potter, and more. Often used in t-shirts, phone cases, and more, you can see all of Megan's art here.
____________________________________________________
For the Trekkie Foodie Enterprise Pizza Cutter, $17.99
BRB, eating pizza with Christopher Pine.
____________________________________________________
For the Authentic Space (Wo)Man A freaking piece of the moon, $24.99
Seriously. A piece of the moon. If you don't want that in your Christmas stocking, then you might be from Mars. By the way, they have freaking pieces of MARS for sale, too.
____________________________________________________
For the Fashionable Reader Steller Science Book Necklace, $12.00
Dear Husband, please buy this for me.I mean, come on! How cute is this?!
____________________________________________________
For the Scientific Princess Princess Bubblegum Doll, $12.29
If you don't think Princess Bubblegum is the greatest scientist after the Mushroom Wars, you're wrong.
____________________________________________________
For Someone Who Needs to Carry It All Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book Purse, $58.00
This Etsy artist has lots of book purses for sale, including A Wrinkle in Time, HP Lovecraft, Doctor Who and lots more. But I have to admit: I wish this Hitchhiker's purse was $42.
____________________________________________________
For the Stamped Sci Fi Nerd Tardis Stamp Necklace
These postage stamp necklaces are made by book blogger and librarian Leila from Bookshelves of Doom. But you can't have this Tardis one, because I totally bought it before you could. (But message her; she might have more!)
____________________________________________________
For the Ones Who Still Believe in Cake Companion Cube Cookie Jar, $29.99
True story: I made my husband destroy my companion cube in Portal because I felt too bad to do it myself. Also because I have bad hand-eye coordination. But also the feels!
____________________________________________________
For the Best SF Christmas Cards Various SF cards, $3.50
In addition to having a variety of cute clay pendants, buttons, bookmarks, and more, Lesley at SweetGeek has a line of cute Christmas cards perfect for the nerds in your life. Also? Ornaments! And wreaths!____________________________________________________
For the Sci Fi Nerd You Love the Best SIGNED books from the  Across the Universe Series, $9.99/each
Heh. I just couldn't help myself. But if you realllllly love someone, get 'em the AtU books! And if you order them from Malaprops, you can get them signed! They ship internationally :)

Boston Area Event!

  Attention Boston! These hot people are coming to your area!

Who:
Me, author of the Across the Universe seriesAlan Gratz, super cool guy who writes middle grade, YA, and even a Star Trek novel, featuring his latest title, a true-life story inspired by a Holocaust survivorMyra McEntire, one awesome chick and author of the Hourglass trilogy, the last book of which I totally helped brainstorm in a Panera, and I'm so stealing credit for that because it's brilliantJeri Smith-Ready, who has a brand-spanking new haircut, a husband who answered some of my science questions for Shades of Earth, and several amazing, totally unique books in both YA and adult, including her latest, This Side of SalvationWhat: A q&a panel followed by a book signingWhen: THIS SUNDAY, November 24, at 2pmWhere: Wellesley Bookstore, 82 Central Street, Wellesley MA

More info!
This event is going to be loads of fun, and we're all signing books afterwards. I really hope you can make it--and if you're attending NCTE/ALAN that weekend, all of us will be there, too. Come say hi!

Free Short Story: "The Turing Test"

Today my short story, "The Turing Test," is available for free from Lightspeed Magazine. Before I get into the story, I just want to say how awesome Lightspeed is. They're really very innovative, offering the magazine for a remarkably cheap price (only $3.99 for an individual issue; subscriptions cheaper), and yet they consistently provide amazing short stories in fantasy and sci fi, and they make them free to the public after the magazine launches. If you like to read fantasy or sci fi, do yourself a favor and check Lightspeed out.

(Also, my fellow nerds, can I just point out that I'm in issue #42? Wheee!)

Right! So, my story, "The Turing Test" is now available for free here. I really quite like this story, inspired by a conversation with my husband at Subway. Who knew Italian subs were so story-sparking?!

Here's the first little bit of the story:
“Do you know why you’re here?” Dr. Philip asks.I laugh. “I would be rather stupid if I didn’t.”Dr. Philip’s smile is indulgent, which frustrates me. I uncross my legs at the ankle and re-cross them at my knees, not bothering to readjust my skirt. Dr. Philip blushes and looks down at his clipboard.“I need you to state your reasoning,” he says. “For the record.”He might be a professor, but he isn’t much older than me. Not more than a decade. Just about right.“My name is Elektra Shepherd,” I say. “I’m eighteen years old. A freshman in university, majoring in artificial intelligence. Today I am a participant in a Turing test. For the record,” I add in a lower voice, just so I can see Dr. Philip blush.“Thank you, Ms. Shepherd,” Dr. Philip says.I smile at him, relishing the feel of my heavy lipstick on my lips.“And could you state what you think a Turing test is?” he adds.I raise my eyebrow at him.“For the record.”“A Turing test is a test developed to determine whether or not artificial intelligence has, well, intelligence. Essentially, a person—me, in this case—is separated in one room. Across that wall,” I point to the wall directly opposite me, “is another room. Inside the room is one person and one A.I.. All three of us are going to have a little conversation, and then I’m going to tell you which one the person is.”“Which one you think is the person,” Dr. Philip says, making a note on the paper in his clipboard.I roll my eyes. “Come on, Richard.”“Dr. Philip, please.”“Come on, Dr. Philip. I know I’m just a freshman, but I think I’ll be able to figure out the difference between a computer and a person.”Dr. Philip laughs, and something in the harsh sound makes me uncross my legs and readjust my skirt. “Oh, you’d be surprised,” he says. “A.I. has come quite a long way in the last five or so years.”
Keep reading here! And if you're curious about my inspiration--which includes Blade Runner, Doctor Who, and more--you can read this wonderful interview here. Seriously--it's quite a good interview, one of the best I've ever done. Jude Griffin, the interviewer, asked wonderfully in-depth questions and it was simply wonderful working with her on this.

I do hope you check them out and enjoy the story! It was a blast to write!

What Do You Prefer In a Girl?

Mildly NSFW due to some language, but the language is relevant.

SHADES OF EARTH paperback release!

Today is the paperback release of SHADES OF EARTH!

I am so excited that this book is finally available in paperback to everyone in the US—and, for the first time, the entire trilogy matches in size, cover, and design! Whee!

More information on all the books (along with pics of the original covers) here.


You can buy signed copies of any of the books:
Would you like a signed copy? Contact Malaprops.
Indie Bound
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-a-Million
The Book Depository

Winners!

First, I want to thank everyone for helping me spread the word of the Shades of Earth paperback release--which is happening this week! If you didn't win, remember you can always order signed copies from Malaprops.







When I announced this contest, I said it would be a bit of an experiment--I wanted to know which platform worked best for spreading the word. I think the clear winner of this was Tumblr, with nearly two-thousand entries. If you're a writer or blogger interested in an analysis of the giveaway, head over to the YA Reddit.



Okay! On to the exciting bit!! The Winners!




Tumblr: TheHodgenator 

Facebook: MichaelaJ 

Twitter: @Sarah89163266 

Instagram: onceuponatime_in_neverland

Extra Winner From All Followers: http://booyahitsriya.tumblr.com/

I'm in the process of contacting all the winners right now, but again, I just want to say thanks to everyone for playing along! And trust me, the next time I have an announcement, I'll be doing another giveaway :)

Win a Signed Trilogy! The Great Social Media Contest Experiment

The paperback of SHADES OF EARTH comes out on November 14, and I am super excited. Because, well, this is the first time the entire trilogy has matched. Look how beautiful they all are--all the same size, with the same cover design!









And of course, you guys know I celebrate with giveaways! But for this one, I really wanted to see what would be the best method of giving away things. I've done lots of different giveaways in the past, but which kind is more effective? Which kind reaches the most people?









So I thought...let's turn this into an experiment. Four giveaways, all happening simultaneously, across different social media platforms. You can enter each competition if you like, and it's open internationally. I'm going to keep track of the entries, and see which one is more popular, so I'll know where best to do giveaways in the future.









The prizes? A complete signed trilogy of all three books. Within each contest, there will be one winner who will get Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and Shades of Earth, all signed.



The rules?


The contest is open internationally
The contest opens November 1
The last day to enter is November 10
You can enter once per day, and you can enter all four contests each day (i.e., one tweet, one FB comment, one reblog in tumblr, and one instagram photo per day is the max number of entries)
Five people will win three books, signed
Accidental duplicate entries will be deleted. Purposefully trying to scam the system and enter tons of times will result in disqualification.




Remember: Each is separate contest, 

and you can enter as many as you want, once per day.


FACEBOOK

To enter the Facebook Competition, just comment on this picture in my author page, tagging someone you think will like the books or share the post in your newsfeed. From my understanding, you do not have to automatically like my page to do this--you can go directly there and just leave a tagged comment. You can do this entry once per day; follow me and get one more additional entry.



TWITTER

To enter the Twitter Competition, just tweet the following message (or just click here to have it auto-generated):

I want to win a signed trilogy by @bethrevis! #ShadesOfEarth comes out in paperback Nov 14. RT to enter! Details: http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2013/10/win-signed-trilogy-great-social-media.html

You can do this entry once per day; follow me and get one more additional entry.



TUMBLR

To enter the Tumblr Competition, just reblog the post here. You can do this entry once per day; follow me and get one more additional entry.



INSTAGRAM

To enter the Instagram Competition, repost the contest picture here. You can do this on your phone by simply taking a screenshot and then posting in your instagram. You can also do this online with the image below. You can do this entry once per day; follow me and get one more additional entry.







Just for fun, you can also follow this fan-made instagram account for the AtU series, @silence_and_stars!



That's it!  Oh, except for one more thing: It's not required that you follow me to enter, but I will be selecting one additional winner from the entire pool of entries who follows me on any of the social media platforms as a winner. For example, tweeting the message is an entry, but if you also follow my Twitter account, that's an extra entry. Same for all the other social media platforms.



So, there will be one winner from Facebook, one from Twitter, one from Tumblr, one from Instagram, and one from my followers. This means:




FIVE PEOPLE 

WILL WIN 

A COMPLETE SIGNED TRILOGY 

OF THE 

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE SERIES.

That's right: five winners. Fifteen books.




Also: You can always order your own set of books from Malaprops. They ship internationally, and you can get all three in paperback for about $30. Just tell them you want them signed and/or personalized!

Story Never Dies

Every once in awhile, I see people arguing about ebooks versus print books.



Before I started reading ebooks, I was definitely on the print side of this argument. But now, well...frankly...



I don't think there is an argument.



See, the thing is, it's not really the format that's important. It's the story.



People will never not love story. They've loved it since cave man days--what do you think all those cave paintings are? Part of a story.







If you think about it, every single form of entertainment that we enjoy is part of a story. Movies, obviously, but music as well. Sometimes--such as with most country songs--it's easy to see the story. But even music without a singer tells a story.







This is Für Elise" by Beethoven, one of my favorite songs.And it tells a story. It actually has great story structure. Listen to the way it opens--it comes back to those sounds at the beginning in the final notes. This is known as a "fugue," but in the book world, it's a "theme."



All the good art is a story. There is art that is highly symbolic, such as Pre-Raphaelite art or the work of Alphonse Mucha.







But even work that's not purposefully telling a story--does. For example, probably my least favorite work of art is the Dada "Fountain" toilet by Duchamps:





It's a toilet.



But it still has a story.



Seriously. If you can look at this and think, "WTF?", then you've already fallen into the story.



All art has story. All art has story. To me, this is the definition of what art is: an object with story. And we are surrounded, all the time, by art. By story. Even something as simple as the clothes we wear has a story. I'm a huge fan of Project Runway; in the current season, my favorite designer is NCSU alum Justin Leblanc. Justin is deaf, and his most recent project tells a story--of how he got a cochlear implant and heard sound for the first time. [You can see the complete collection shown here.]



In the runway show, the first dress was solid white--his life without sound.







The next dress was dark, with splatters on the bottom, and sound waves graphically printed on the top. His life when he first heard sound, and was overwhelmed by the chaotic nature of it.







Art surrounds us--story surrounds us. And story inspires story. There is story in every tattoo...







...and there is story in this poem by Ted Kooser, "Tattoo," inspired by a time he saw an old man with a tattoo.

What once was meant to be a statement—

a dripping dagger held in the fist

of a shuddering heart—is now just a bruise

on a bony old shoulder, the spot

where vanity once punched him hard

and the ache lingered on. He looks like

someone you had to reckon with,

strong as a stallion, fast and ornery,

but on this chilly morning, as he walks

between the tables at a yard sale

with the sleeves of his tight black T-shirt

rolled up to show us who he was,

he is only another old man, picking up

broken tools and putting them back,

his heart gone soft and blue with stories.



from Delights & Shadows, Copper Canyon Press, Port Townsend, WA 2004

(PS: Check out these hyper-realistic tattoos! I like the cyborg ones.)



All of it is story; all of it is art. When we think of something as being "good art" or "bad art," what we're really arguing about is whether or not the story the art told strikes a cord with us. I don't like "Fountain" not because it's not art, but because the story it tells doesn't resonate with me.



This is why it doesn't matter to me if a book is print or ebook. It's the story that matters, not the medium.