Aimee Agresti's Blog, page 5

INFATUATE Available for Pre-Order!

Anyone ready for ILLUMINATE’s sequel?! I’m thrilled to report that INFATUATE, Book Two in the Gilded Wings Trilogy, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! (And just look at it: are you as in love with that cover as I am?! Swoon!)

What to expect from the follow-up to ILLUMINATE? Just months after the conflagration that was prom, Haven, Lance and Dante graduate from high school and head to New Orleans to take part in community service projects…and battle a pack of devils more vicious and mysterious than any they’ve ever encountered. As they struggle against this new enclave, Haven is visited by a figure from her past: Lucian. The devil who wooed her in Chicago has returned with hopes of redemption. But he needs her help to escape the underworld. Can he be trusted? Or will aiding him cost Haven her angel wings and her life?

The book hits shelves in March, reserve your copy now!

My Fave New Cookbook!

Calling all True Blood fans: here’s a book to sink your teeth into! Last night I popped by a delicious signing for the fab new cookbook TRUE BLOOD: Eats, Drinks and Bites from Bon Temps by Alan Ball and Karen Sommer Shalett (the editor of DC magazine and a pal of mine!) Let me tell you, all book signings should be like this: we sipped tasty “Dead on the Beach” cocktails, nibbled some spicy “Ruby Jean’s Hash” and tested out blood-red lip shades. The book itself is a treat too: sweet and savory southern-style recipes all written from the point of view of your fave True Blood characters. Bon appetit!

Roaming the National Book Festival!

It’s that time of year again–National Book Festival weekend!–when I find myself wandering the National Mall, flitting from tent to tent and feverishly jotting down words of wisdom dispensed from some of the best writers around.

I was so excited to see one of my faves, Pulitzer-winner Jeffrey Eugenides read from his (brilliant!) latest, THE MARRIAGE PLOT, and dish about his process. One of the best bits from his talk: he was cheating on another book when he began writing THE MARRIAGE PLOT! He confessed that he had hit a tough spot in the writing of his acclaimed MIDDLESEX when he started pursuing a new idea as an escape and it eventually blossomed into this fabulous book. Love that!

(And I must admit, from time to time I cheat on Haven Terra and go diving into some non-Gilded Wings ideas! We’ll see what becomes of them….)

 

Chatting With the James River Writers!

I was lucky enough to swoop into Richmond to talk about the editing process at the James River Writers’ “Writing Show” last week and I had such a blast! There’s nothing more inspiring than being in a room full of writers (all with exciting projects in the works!) and I was honored to share the stage with the truly fabulous Meg Medina, author of The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. (Read it, you’ll love it!)

You can check out a clip from the event here and feel like you were there! And even better: take a peek at the first draft of the first chapter of ILLUMINATE along with my annotated guide to all the changes that were made in those first fifteen pages. My philosophy on editing? Take your time and don’t be afraid to shake things up in your manuscript!

Thanks to JRW for a lovely evening and an extra thank you to the wonderful Kristi Tuck Austin for making my visit such fun!

The INFATUATE Cover is Here!…

…And I LOVE it! I hope you do too! Let me know what you think! Book Two in the Gilded Wings Trilogy, this sequel to ILLUMINATE hits shelves in March and is already available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! More INFATUATE scoop coming soon!

 

 

 

Richmond Event Next Week!

In April, I had a blast visiting Richmond’s fabulous Fountain Bookstore for an ILLUMINATE signing, so I was absolutely thrilled when the James River Writers–a fantastic writing group there–invited me to be part of their upcoming “Writing Show.”

On August 30, I’ll be joining the lovely Meg Medina–author of THE GIRL WHO COULD SILENCE THE WIND, an absolute must-read, YA writing at its best!–to talk in-depth about the editing process. If you’re in town, please come by! The event starts at 6:30pm at the Children’s Museum of Richmond. Check here for more info! It’ll be a good time and I promise to spill all sorts of fun secrets about the writing and editing of ILLUMINATE. Bonus: expect to see my wild old outlines and crazy notes from my first draft! Hope to see you there!

We Have a Winner!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you guys for entering the ILLUMINATE Beach Read Giveaway! I had such a blast getting to hear which ILLUMINATE guy was your fave, your Tweets and messages were the best. Now, with the help of Random.org, I’ve selected one lucky winner, who’ll nab a signed copy of ILLUMINATE, a bookmark, an ILLUMINATE beach bag and a Team Lucian or Team Lance hat. Congratulations to…

KATIE ROBERTSON!!!!!!

Woo hoo! Congrats, Katie! (I don’t have your email address, so if you don’t mind shooting me a message at aimee@aimeeagresti.com and letting me know where to send your winnings, that would be great!)

And now, since Katie was Team Lance, I figured I really ought to do something with this Team Lucian hat I still have hanging around. So, I consulted Random.org again, to find that one lucky Lucian fan. Congratulations….

KRISTEN DELEONARD!!!!!

Yay, Kristen! Hurrah! (I’ll be getting in touch with you!)

If you didn’t win this time, never fear, I promise there’ll be more giveaways coming soon! Stay tuned!

Enter the ILLUMINATE Beach Read Giveaway!

 

Looking for a great read for that trip to the beach? Then it’s time to enter the  fabulous ILLUMINATE Beach Read Giveaway! Woo hoo!

That’s right, one lucky winner will score a signed copy of ILLUMINATE, a bookmark, an ILLUMINATE beach bag and–since you’ve gotta be able to keep the sun out of your eyes to read–a baseball cap of your choosing with the name of your fave ILLUMINATE guy: “Team Lucian” or “Team Lance”! The hats, I must say, are pretty adorable….

How to enter? Easy: all you have to do is Tweet at me here and/or post on my Facebook page here telling me whether you’re on Team Lucian or Team Lance!  You have until July 25 to enter and then, with the help of Random.org, I’ll be selecting a winner on July 27. Thanks for playing and good luck!

(And an extra thanks to my pal Poornima for snapping that fab pic of ILLUMINATE at the beach!)

Book Two: Finished!

Hurrah! I’ve finally finished polishing up the sequel to ILLUMINATE! The title?….

INFATUATE!

What can I tell you about Book Two of the Gilded Wings Trilogy? Well, expect plenty of romance, adventure, and angels-vs-devils drama. Haven and her fellow angels are back and ready for the next test in their quest to earn their wings. But this time around they find themselves in New Orleans, where they get in all sorts of devilish trouble. OK, that’s all I’m dishing now, but stay tuned here for more scoops and keep an eye out for it on shelves in March!

What’s next now? Hmmm, I think I need to celebrate finishing up by giving some stuff away….

All Sorts of Updates!

Happy Summer! What have you been up to? I’m ever-so-slowly emerging from my little writing cocoon where I’ve been polishing up Book Two of the Gilded Wings trilogy! Hope to be finished soon. Stay tuned for more scoop, but in the meantime I’ve dropped some hints about it in new blog interviews with the lovely ladies of Treasured Tales for Young Adults and Sparkles and Lightning!

Oooh, and I have some fun international news: just heard that ILLUMINATE will be translated and published in Turkey, Spain, Latin America and Poland! (By the way, did you see the cover of the Hungarian edition?! So much fun!)

What’s next? Hmmm, I think it could be time for a GIVEAWAY! Check back here for my fabulous ILLUMINATE Beach Read Giveaway coming very soon!

PS: Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all you guys for reading ILLUMINATE! I’ve been LOVING the emails, Tweets and Facebook messages you’ve been sending–it means so much to hear from you!