Suzanne Johnson's Blog, page 82

First-Sentence Friday and Huge Honkin' YA Contest

Ah…..Friday.Such a nice word. Makes me want to clean out some bookshelves. So here's thegame. Match the first line with the book it's from, post your answers in thecomments. (Can you cheat? Sure!)
Authors agonize over first lines. Well, first paragraphs, first scenes, middle scenes, last scenes...we agonize over everything. But especially that opening line. It should make us readers want to keep reading. So below are opening lines from seven YA novels. Some bestsellers, some that maybe...

Do you Dream of Genies? Author Judi Fennell & Contest for GENIE KNOWS BEST

Today, Preternatura welcomes author Judi Fennell, who writes some great light romantic fantasy in what she calls "fairy tales with a twist." Her newest book, Genie Knows Best, came out Tuesday, and she's hard at work in Philadelphia on the next, Magic Gone Wild, which comes out in August. For more information on Judy, visit http://www.judifennell.com/.  Read on to meet Judi and win one of two copies of Genie Knows Best we'll be giving away to commenters. Genie Knows Best is second in a...

Preternatura Book Club: Halfway to the Grave, Chapters 19-20

 Welcometo this week's "meeting" of the Preternatura Book Club! Today, we continue withthe first book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, Halfway to the Grave.
Here'show it works. Each week, I'll post a summary (spoiler alert!) on two chapters,and we'll chat about them. Try to minimize spoilers beyond what's happened inthe book we've read so far. You can read along, read ahead, or just stop by andread the summaries. After the Book Club has been up a few days, I'll move it toarchives so...

YA Review & Contest: TOUCH by Jus Accardo

YA books probably do a better job thanany other genre of digging into the whole issue of alienation and belonging.How do we find our place in a world where our beliefs or abilities don't quitefit? And what if we fall prey to someone who wants to use our abilities againstpeople we care about? Those are some of the themes in a terrific new YA fromauthor Jus Accardo. It's all about choosing a side and taking a stand. Read onfor a chance to win a copy!
ABOUT TOUCH: When a strange boy tumbles down...

New Releases Oct. 30-Nov. 6 and Reader's Choice Contest

Happy Halloween, and do I have a big old scary list of new releases this week! Thebookshelves are sagging, the TBR piles are toppling…and still the new releaseskeep coming. Get your pads and pencils ready tomake a list. As always, Reader's Choice is an international giveaway, so take adeep breath and dig in!
*Genrekey (at the end of each listing): SF=science fiction; F=fantasy; UF=urbanfantasy; H=horror; PR=paranormal romance; YA=young adult; althistory=alternative history; dyst=dystopia...

Halloween Horror Contest and Weekly Winners

I have one big Halloween-worthy monster of a new releases list and contest coming tomorrow, so we'll celebrate the holiday a day early on Preternatura with a giveaway of two of the best, creepiest books I've read in a couple of years--the two volumes of author Alex Bledsoe's Memphis Vampires books: Blood Groove and Girls with Games of Blood. (And scroll on down to see if you won a book in one of last week's contests.)

Okay, confession time. I'm more than a tad claustrophobic, and there are sce...

Reminder--Last Day to Enter (And Musical Bonus)

REMINDER: LAST DAY TO ENTER
My giveaway announcements have moved to SUNDAYS until theend of college football season (don't even ask), so guest what? An extra day towin!
First, though, I want to start a new feature called DJ'SPLAYLIST. Music plays a big part in my writing—I don't listen to it while Iwrite (gotta have the sounds of silence for that), but I listen to itconstantly when I'm not writing. Earbuds firmly clamped in ears while I'm atthe dayjob, blaring from the speakers in Samwise...

Fantasy Review and Contest--SPELLBOUND by Blake Charlton

Every once in a while I find a fantasyworld so different it blows me away, and Blake Charlton's world of magic wherespells are woven with words and (be still my beating geek heart) grammaticaldevices is one of them. Don't let the old-fashioned dungeons-and-dragonslikecover fool you. This one's sharp and hip and not to be missed.
THE OFFICIAL BLURB: Francesca DeVega is a healer in the city of Avel, composingmagical sentences that close wounds and disspell curses, but her life is throwninto...

Stephanie Draven on Heartbreak and Heat--and Minotaurs

[image error] Today, Preternatura welcomes author Stephanie Draven, whose new paranormal romance, Dark Sins and Desert Sands, came out recently from Harlequin Nocturne. Stephanie, who lives in Baltimore and writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray, is going to talk about heartbreak--something we probably all know too much about. Read on to win a copy of the book! For more information, visit her website at www.stephaniedraven.com. 
ABOUT THE BOOK: Escaping a Syrian prison, U.S. serviceman Ray Stavrakis...

Preternatura Book Club: Halfway to the Grave, Chapters 17 and 18

Welcometo this week's "meeting" of the Preternatura Book Club! Today, we continue withthe first book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, Halfway to the Grave.
Here'show it works. Each week, I'll post a summary (spoiler alert!) on two chapters,and we'll chat about them. Try to minimize spoilers beyond what's happened inthe book we've read so far. You can read along, read ahead, or just stop by andread the summaries. After the Book Club has been up a few days, I'll move it toarchives so...