Sarvenaz Tash's Blog, page 25

Thank You and Winners!

Truth be told, I've been planning Monday's giveaway for months, ever since I got my ARCs really. October 24th was my birthday and exactly 6 months out from publication. Just seemed too perfect!

I have to say I've been floored by the amount of responses. Over 200 entries and 40 entrants...that astounds me, honestly. Not to mention how much I've loved reading about everyone's favorite birthdays: from marriage proposals to Brazilian surprise parties to Slip 'N Slides to Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. T...

The Wisdom of 21-Year-Olds

When I was 15, I wrote myself a letter to be opened when I turned 21. I wrote about what I was doing at 15, what I had hoped to have accomplished by 21 and, I'm pretty sure, some stuff about how much I hated my lab partner.

When I was 21, I wrote myself a letter to be opened when I turned 30. I just read it. The lab partner was long gone from my life, but I was just about to embark on my last semester of college.


Here are some choice passages I thought I'd share. The text in italics are my tho...

My First ARC Giveaway: Win an Advanced Copy of THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST!

Today is October 24th.

This means:

1. We are exactly 6 months out from the publication date of The Mapmaker and the Ghost!
2. It's my birthday.
3. I turn 30 today.

And I want to celebrate by giving YOU something!

It's my first-ever giveaway of The Mapmaker and the Ghost ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies)! Not only that, but I'm giving away a few more prizes. They are:


- 1 signed ARC of The Mapmaker and the Ghost along with a Mapmaker bookmark and sticker set
- 1 $30 Amazon gift card
- 5 swag packs of The M...

Art I Love: Across the Great Lake

So...remember how on Monday, I wrote about Graig and his amazing art?

He just gave me this:

 ...

...

...

He's my favorite. That is all.

Five Random Observations from My First Comic Con

I am, admittedly, a pretty big geek. But up until now, I'd never attended an actual Comic Con. So this year when my friend Billy (a Comic Con veteran) brought it up, I jumped at the chance. I read his 10 Commandments of New York Comic Con, used copious amounts of soap, put on my Harry and the Potters T-shirt and set out for the faraway land of the Javits Center.

It was a wondrous world of spandex, body paint and unabashed geekiness. I loved it!

Check out my guest post on Tuesday Night Movies (a...

The Other Storyteller

My boyfriend, Graig, is an artist (a painter).

He mostly paints historic baseball scenes. Before you go anywhere, you should know that I know next to nothing about baseball. But I find his paintings absolutely entrancing. I think it's because they're so narrative, that I can tell there's a fascinating story behind each and every one, even if I could care less about sports (sorry to be such a stereotypical girl on that count, but it's just the truth).

Here are some of my absolute favorites prese...

The Class of 2K12 Has Launched!

What is the Class of 2K12 you might ask?

Well, inquisitive reader, it is a group of 20 young adult and middle grade authors whose debut books will all be coming out in 2012. Our tagline is "Fiction That Rocks." But you don't have to take my word for it*...because you can check out our just-launched website for yourself: www.classof2k12.com

Just look at some of our covers!





And here are just some of our tagline...

MG Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Interview with Greg R. Fishbone

This month's Middle Grade author spotlight and giveaway is extra special because it's also part of a much larger blog tour for Greg R. Fishbone's new book, Galaxy Games: The Challengers !

In this blog post you get:
- an interview with Greg
- a chance to win Greg's book plus a bonus book (courtesy of me)
- a chance to gather a puzzle piece for Greg's blog tour filled with other fabulous prizes
- to marvel at the fact that Greg R. Fishbone has the best children's author name ever

And all for the low, ...

Swag: A Sneak Peek, Part Two

I showed you my final stickers and now here's a sneak peek at the other piece of swag I'm creating for The Mapmaker and the Ghost. Bookmarks!

Disclaimer: this is not the final version; just a progress shot. But the final product should look pretty similar to this:


The compass charm can be taken off and used as a pendant, backpack charm or fashionable 90s-style solo earring (unless you get two bookmarks, that is!).

There'll be something exclusive on the other side too. [Cue mysterious music, whic...

Release Dates May Seem Closer Than They Appear

See that little countdown clock on the right? -->

It's telling me that The Mapmaker and the Ghost is coming out in 200 days (or actually 199 days and change...or, depending on when you're reading this, some entirely different amount of days.)

200 still seems like kind of a big number but it also...gulp...doesn't. In fact, I've now reached the point where I actually believe April 24th may be here before I know it.

You see, I've now become aware of time's wily ways. Before I graduated high school,...