Corrine Jackson's Blog, page 13

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YA Scavenger Hunt

 
Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am on the RED TEAM–but there is also a blue team for a chance to win a whole different set of twenty-five signed books!

If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE


Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the red team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).
Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by August 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.



SCAVENGER HUNT POST
 

Today, I am hosting KIMBERLY DERTING on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt! Here is her bio:


Kimberly Derting’s Bio
Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins) and THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal place to write anything dark or creepy…a gloomy day can set the perfect mood. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children who provide an endless source of inspiration.



Find out more information by visiting Kimberley’s website here or go buy it immediately here!



EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

The Pledge Books: THE ESSENCE

Exclusive first look at the cover copy for Book #2 in The Pledge trilogy (January 1, 2013)
Poor child.  Poor, wretched child.  You have no idea what you’re up against.  No idea how to stop me, do you?

Though it has been months since Charlaina—Charlie—defeated the tyrant Sabara and took control of the Ludanian crown, Sabara has not disappeared. The evil queen’s Essence has fused itself to Charlie’s psyche, ever present right below the surface, ready to take control at the first sign of weakness.

Balancing her new duties as Queen of Ludania, and battling both Sabara’s voice and a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system, is pushing Charlie to the brink of exhaustion. She wants to be the same old Charlie she has ever been, the one who Max loves, the one who Brook trusts, but now she is now Your Majesty. Struggling to keep Sabara’s presence a secret, Charlie is torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit, to meet with the leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal.

And the only person she can turn to for help is the wicked one residing within.

And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Kimberly Derting, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is: 20. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the red team and you’ll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT



To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Jeri Smith-Ready, hosted over at Lisa Burstein‘s site!




ANOTHER CONTEST



You didn’t think that was it, did you? Of course not!


Leave a comment below for a chance to win one of five IF I LIE swag packs. The packs include bookmarks, postcards, and stickers. The winners will be chosen at random.
Plus, email me your complete mailing address to receive a FREE signed IF I LIE bookplate. One per person. Include full name, street address, city, state and zip code.
Eligible in the US only.

MFA Graduation

I hadn’t planned to share this, but hey, when you work toward something for four years, you want to brag a little. A video of bits of my MFA in Creative Writing graduation. You’ll note I’m not in a gown. We do things a bit more casual when you graduate at an overseas residency. Hood, yes. Gown, no.

Bookanista Review: WHY WE BROKE UP

Here is the official blurb from the publisher:

WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler, Illustrated by Maira Kalman

I’m telling you why we broke up, Ed. I’m writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

****

The concept behind WHY WE BROKE UP fascinates me. A girl uses a box full of mementos to explain to her ex why they broke up. Every chapter begins with an illustration of the item, as if the girl is picking it up, examining it, and remembering what the item meant to her. We get a sneak peek at her memories through a letter she is writing to the ex that she plans to drop in the box. We follow the couple as they first notice each other at a party to the final scene that ends their relationship. (As an aside, I heard Daniel Handler speak at my local Books Inc. indie, and he mentioned that Maira created the illustrations first and he used these to write the story. I love the idea of art begetting art.)

I can easily see why this book was a Printz winner. Aside from the unique concept, the stream-of-consciousness narration sounds like a teen girl. Even better, it feels like we’re riding that rush of first love along with her. From the giddy highs to the scary lows, I didn’t feel like the voice was censored. The humor laced throughout the story won me over, and there were some phrases that made me laugh out loud, particularly in the scene when Min introduces Ed to her friends and he promptly does everything wrong.

Another strength of the book is how Min acknowledges how naïve she was, and how she wore love-blinders in her relationship with Ed. Often couples admit the signs were there all along, but they ignored them in the heat of their emotion. As a reader, we wear the same blinders. We might notice that something isn’t quite right, but initially, we see Ed as Min does.

The only complaint I had was the very end. The concept locks us into a certain timeline. Once the last item is thrown in the “breakup” box, the story must end. Therefore, it seems to end abruptly and without a lot of closure. If we’re hoping for a bigger end with more insight into the future, you’ll be disappointed. A lot is left to the imagination, which some readers may prefer in any case.

***

Check out the links below to see what the other Bookanistas are talking about!

Katy Upperman delights in BITTERBLUE

Tracy Banghart revels in GOING TOO FAR

Elana Johnson enjoys INSURGENT

IF I LIE Giveaway Blitz

You’ve asked, begged, and pleaded for an ARC of IF I LIE. Well, I’ve got fantastic news. I was able to get my hands on one at ALA. Huzzah! It’s time for a Goodreads giveaway. And baby, this is going to be a fast contest because I’m leaving for Europe, and I want to drop it into the mail before I go.

So don’t tarry! Get your entry in now.

Goodreads Book Giveaway


If I Lie
by Corrine Jackson

Giveaway ends July 12, 2012.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

Dear To-Do List

I hate you. Please be a dear and let me get some sleep.

Love,

Me

Here is a sample of what I have to do in the next week, and this does not include the items on day job to-do list. And I realize all votes of sympathy flew out the door at “Pack for Europe.”

Prep for MFA Graduation Residency

Grad Lecture – test PowerPoint, prepare handout
Grad Reading – prepare remarks and practice 20-minute reading
Workshop – read 9 workshop packets and prepare comments
Read 2.5 books and be prepared to discuss

TOUCHED 1 copy edits
TOUCHED 2 – do another read through
TOUCHED 3 – begin outline
Germany – prep for visit and reading
Pack for Europe
Clean house to prepare for family visit next week. This means moving stacks of books to make things presentable
Finish invites for IF I LIE launch party
Complete blog interviews
Order TOUCHED bookmarks (need for August)
Film 2 YA Rebels vlogs
Hit post office to mail out blog prizes

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“Meet and Greet” in Germany

Some of you may know that TOUCHED released in German this last February (US release November 27, 2012). Happily, the book is doing quite well, and I’m over the moon that I am heading to Europe in July for a little visit. (I’m graduating with my MFA in Creative Writing in Paris in July, too, but that’s another story.) Thienemann Verlag has arranged a “Meet and Greet” in Stuttgart, Germany, and you can enter the raffle to be one of the attendees.

Raffle Details

Where: Thienemann Verlag in Stuttgart, Germany

When: July 17, 2012 , 3PM 

25 winners will hear me read from TOUCHED (in English) and discuss the sequel. Plus there will be a Q&A and a tour of the Thienemann Verlag, the publisher of best-sellers like “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende and the “Cheeky Girls” books.

How to enter:

Send an email to info@thienemann.de with your address and the subject “Touched – Meet & Greet” by June 30.
Thienemann Verlag will conduct a raffle to choose 25 winners from the entries. Winners will be notified in early July.
The winner must pay for their travel to the publishing house.

For more details or to read this in German, please visit here.

 

IF I LIE Launch Party – Save the Date!

Live in the Bay Area? Save the date for the IF I LIE launch party!

 

Thanks to Maggie at Books Inc. for putting this together!

Kirkus Reviews IF I LIE

Kirkus’s motto is “The World’s Toughest Book Critics,” and writers everywhere wince in agreement.

I’ve been preparing myself for months. Not just for the Kirkus review, but for my first professional review. I know some people will love my work, some will feel meh, and others will loathe it with a fiery passion. And a reviewer can fall into any one of those camps. That’s simple reality.

So when my editor sent over my Kirkus review, I held my breath and opened it. And here’s what commenced.

*Reads*

*SQUEE*

*Sob*

*Doubts eyes”

*Reads again*

*Squees louder*

*Chokes on happy tears*

Here’s my favorite quote from a gorgeous review:

“Sophie’s blunt, perceptive present-tense narration takes readers effectively into her personal emotional maelstrom. Relationships and their dynamics play themselves out naturally and with satisfying complexity; readers see all too clearly the damage done in the name of love.“

-from Kirkus

 

You can read the whole review here.* Pardon me while I go have “satisfying complexity” tattooed on my back.

 

*If you don’t have a Kirkus subscription, you might have to wait until August to read the full review. I didn’t want to post the whole thing because, you know, that would be violating their copyright.

 

Pre-Order IF I LIE:

Amazon | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

Add to Your Shelf:

Goodreads

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