Demitria Lunetta's Blog, page 17

100 Days Until IN THE AFTER Giveaway!

It's hard to believe, but on Saturday it will be only 100 days until IN THE AFTER releases! To celebrate, I'm giving away 100 signed bookplates, as well as throwing in some bookmark swag, including other debut authors bookmarks. To enter, just fill out the form below. Good luck!

If you'd like to keep track of all IN THE AFTER news and giveaways, follow this blog, like me on facebook, & follow me  @DemitriaLunetta on Twitter. You can also read reviews of IN THE AFTER on Goodreads.

IN THE AFTER releases June 25th from HarperTeen.
 Giveaway ends Sunday 3/17/13 at midnight!
U.S. Addresses Only! One entry per person, please.
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ARC Spotlight - BRIANNA ON THE BRINK by Nicole McIinnes

 
 
A one-night stand has life-altering consequences for popular, sixteen-year-old Brianna, who must then accept help from the one person closest to her mistake.
Recommended for fans of: YA Contemporary
At times Brianna is not the most likeable of girls. If you’ve read my recent blog post on anti-heroes through, you’ll know that this makes me even more intrigued by her character. She’s shallow and mean, kind of a bully, and way too worried about her looks and what others think of her. This is what makes the story though, because she’s a regular, insecure teenage girl with a crappy home life. Brianna definitely grows throughout this story, as she is forced from her home, ostracized by her friends, and made to grow up way too quickly. I loved her default role-model, Jane someone who is selfless without being annoyingly preachy and self-righteous about it. I think what I liked best about this book is that Brianna learns that her actions have consequences, good and bad, something that we all have to face sooner or later.
BRIANNA ON THE BRINK will be released this Friday. Pick up a copy! 

ARC Spotlight – MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza

 
 
Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.
Recommended for fans of: YA Thriller

Mila is just living her life as a normal high schooler when all hell breaks loose: she discovers she’s an android. I love all the action, once it gets going it’s non-stop. I also like the dilemma that Mila faces, accept that she is a machine or fight for her humanity. I also love Mila’s “mother” who Driza makes into a very complex character. If you like action packed YA, you’ll love this book. I would also recommend downloading the free origins story and reading that first. It definitely adds to the story and propels you into the book. 
MILA 2.0 releases tomorrow! Pick up a copy!
  Also check out my blog post at The Class of 2K13 blog today on what I've learned from children. I’ll also be on twitter @theclassof2K13 so stop by and visit!

The Blog Chain – I Love Bad Boys (& Girls)

The Blog Chain question this week is:
 As a reader and/or a writer what are some of your favorite fiction
tropes? Are you sucker for secretly in love with best friend type
stories, stories set in mysterious boarding school stories, stories
that contain time travel, or something else entirely? As a writer how
do you try to give the tropes you tackle in your own books a fresh
spin?

My favorite trope is…the Anti-Hero
I love dark stories and what is darker than the idea of an anti-hero? A character that is flawed and lacking, but so incredibly compelling because of these facts. My favorite examples of this are John Constantine from the Hellblazer comics, Bruce Robertson from Filthby Irvine Welsh and of course, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.     

Anti-heroes are becoming more prevalent in mainstream media, just think how wildly successful shows are like Madmen, Breaking Bad, and of course, Tony Soprano from The Sopranos. We all want a hero, but maybe we want our hero to be a little bad. Whether they are all bad, good at heart, or just have a loose definition of what good and bad actually mean.
I haven't written anything with an anti-hero, I know it's really hard to pull off. There also seems to be a lot more male anti-heroes than female. I do have an idea for a Mean Girls type novel where the main character is so loathesome, she's likeable. Who knows, maybe that will be the next project I work on.  J
Keep following this topic on the chain and check out Michelle’s blog on Monday, or look back at Katrina's post from yesterday.


Who is your favorite anti-hero?

 

ARC Spotlight - RUSH by Eve Silver

 
When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.
Recommended for fans of: YA Sci-fi with a dash of Romance
This book has a very unique premise. Teens are forced to play a “Game” that eliminates alien enemies. At first Miki has no idea why she was chosen, and what really is going on. Everyone is extremely vague and scared of the consequences of giving her answers. This helps the reader connect with Mikki and share in her frustration, but it also makes the answers so much more satisfying when they come. The pacing was fantastic, the unknown threat creating tension throughout the story, even when the characters aren’t in the Game. Silver has a way of ending chapters that leaves you no choice but to keep reading, and the same for the ending of the book. You’ll wish you had the next one already!

March Giveaway - Win an IN THE AFTER Advanced Copy

 Open to U.S., Canada, & the U.K.!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hi all!

My birthday is coming up so I’m going to take a short blog break. You’ll still be able to find me on twitter @demitrialunetta, so you won’t miss me too much J
I’ll be back next Monday, March 4th with a new IN THE AFTER giveaway followed by an ARC Spotlight of RUSH by Eve Silver on Wednesday March 6th.
See you next week! 

The Blog Chain - An American Classic Goes Post-Apocalyptic

The Blog Chain topic this week is:
Pick a book or story and imagine it in a new genre. For example, what would Oliver Twist be like if it was a sci-fi novel. Would Fagin have been a robot? Do you prefer you new creation or the original?   
For my genre reassignment, I chose THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS by James Fenimore Cooper. Even if you haven’t read the original novel, you’ve probably seen the movie featuring a young, rugged Daniel Day Lewis. Let's have look shall we...     Even though the plot is completely different the movie still covers the basics: Set during the French and Indian War, Hawkeye travels with his adoptive Native American father and brother, Chingachgook and Uncas. They meet up with the newly arrived Munro sisters and take it upon themselves to protect the girls from all kinds of unexpected dangers. Characters run around the American wilderness, fall in love, and some die bravely. Everything you could want from an American classic.
I would love to see these characters survive a virus caused apocalypse. There’s so much survival in pre-revolutionary times, that the skills Hawkeye possesses would really translate. He could even have the same weapons and his adoptive family. Filled with not so subtle racism and sexism, (in the book, English and French hate each other and the Native Americans while the Native Americans hate the English and any other tribe of Native American. There are some interesting jibes about how the English are dogs to their women and the Delaware wear skirts). Even these elements could stay…a post-apocalyptic world would not be completely politically correct. The English and the Native Americans can be updated to two competing factions, while the French would translate well as humans effective by a virus…probably with some horrific mutation. Not quite zombies, but aggressive, violent, sub-humans.
If you’ve read (or seen) LAST OF THE MOHICANS, you know that’s there’s a ton of action, a solid romance, and some heart-breaking loss. The characters are courageous, and fueled by a strength of character required to survive the early days of America.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, but I’m really digging the idea of an updated version.

What about you guys, which books would you reimagine and how? 
Keep following this topic on the chain and check out Michelle’s blog on Monday, or look back at Katrina's post from yesterday.
 

Silence IN THE AFTER

Today I’m over at the 2K13 blog talking about the importance of sound IN THE AFTER, so head on over and check it out. I’ll also be manning twitter @TheClassof2K13 so come over and visit.

 
Speaking of 2K13, my 2K13 classmate, Liz Fichera, will be at THE BOOKSTORE in Glen Ellyn, IL tomorrow signing copies of her debut novel HOOKED. I’ll be out there, supporting her and she’ll be the first 2K13 writer I’ll get to meet in person! She’ll be there from 6-8 so stop by too!
The Bookstore - 475 N. Main Street - Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

ARC Spotlight – THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING by Ashley Elston

 
 She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.
Recommended for fans of: YA Contemporary/Thriller
I loved how the plot of THE RULES FOR DISSAPEARING unfolded, unraveling a mystery with just enough suspense and action mixed in. “Meg” is a very relatable MC, having been plucked from her privileged carefree life and always fearful she will have to move again. She resents her parents and doesn’t understand the situation she’s been thrust in to. All of her frustrations are bottled up though, as she tries to be strong for her younger sister. There are also surprising twists and turns along the way, which make for an exciting read.
THE RULES FOR DISAPEARING is available for pre-order and will be released May 14th.