Deirdre Riordan Hall's Blog, page 9

Happy 1st Birthday SUGAR!

I can't believe it's been a full year since SUGAR was released. The last three hundred and sixty-five days have been nothing short of eventful.



Here are some highlights:

-Sugar was nominated for the Georgia Peach Book Award. Please vote to help this book reach more readers!

-Visiting a Brooklyn high school and talking with over one-hundred girls about how "Our worth isn't measured by the opinions of others." Thank you Aimee-Leigh @ In Between the Covers.

-And the book trailer!



Let's celebrate!

I'm giving away an audio book copy of SUGAR, PEARL(my latest release) & some swag, of course!

Please enter below. 
*apologies to my international friends, this one is US only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you all for helping to make SUGAR a widely read success. I appreciate all of the shares, reviews, likes, letters, and love. It means so much to me as you all continually help this little book, written from my heart, reach the hands of readers.

Follow your Bliss got a Makeover!

Ooh la la! The Follow your Bliss series got a cover makeover! 
To celebrate, the three full length novels in the series To the Sea In the Desert & On the Mountain are FREE May 28-30 for Kindle!

The books in the Follow your Bliss series can be read in succession or on their own. Each full-length has a companion novella (see below). They're linked, but standalone. Reading them in order, however, does create a richer experience. Read more here.
Have a look at them all and tell me what you think.





If you've already read the titles above, you can also check out Through the Jungle, the prequel & sequel to Follow your Bliss. And it's FREE when you sign up for my email newsletter. 



Happy Memorial Day to my friends in the US and to everyone, have a great weekend! I hope you find some time to read—that's what I'm hoping to do, well, and surf!

The Hybrid Author // Traditional & Self-Publishing

I recently wrote at length about traditional and independent publishing over at Forever YA for their Inkcouragement Series. 
Here are some more thoughts...

I've found that the life of a writer who then becomes a published author, whether indie or traditional, is multi-layered and reflects itself. Let me explain. There's the writing of the first draft itself, the page on which everything to come is born. This can take anywhere from months to years. Then, of course, there's revisions and editing. In my experience, I'll think I have a manuscript ready to send out into the world, but there's always a little a lot of tweaking to do, and I go back for another read-through or two, sometimes three. Then there's the preparation for publication: cover making, layout, marketing prep, and publicity. As with writing itself, these stages require patience and their own kind of review. I'm both a independently or self-published author and a traditionally published author. Let's talk about being HYBRID!


The Spark.
I officially dedicated myself to writing back in 2007-ish. Nearly five years later, I started querying my first manuscript, The Spark, which has since been shelved. (You may notice many of my social media accounts use the title as an homage to the book that got me started on this fantastic adventure). Sparks of ideas come to me, from where, I don't know, but you better believe, I'm sure to say a hearty thank you each time. 

I'm a fast drafter and a slow reviser and editor. I get a manuscript down and then let it sit for weeks or months before doing several rounds of digging in, working on character development, strengthening conflicts and tension, refining scenes, and upping the stakes. Basically I spend weeks writing and then years working on refinement.

The Querying.
When I thought The Spark was ready, I queried and queried and queried. Chirp chirp chirp. 

I wrote and queried other books. I queried when I wasn't ready. I queried manuscripts that still needed work. I queried the wrong agents. 

I was also bold. I took those nos and turned them into lessons and went back and did the work I was called to do to make the novels shine a bit brighter. I honed my query letters to reflect my personality, my writing style and voice. Alas, there was cursory interest from several agents, but no offer for representation. 

The Self-Publishing.
After a bit of disappointment, some soul-searching, and exploration of my goals and intentions, I opted to go the indie route in 2013. Internet research, inquiries to self-pubbed authors, and more than a few mistakes, I decided to do it all: the book cover, the editing, the formatting and layout, the distribution options, marketing, promotion, I really mean it, ALL THE THINGS. But that also meant I had complete creative control. However, it's a lot of work, especially as I completed the six book Follow your Bliss series and a digital box set, including a novelette that serves as a prequel and a sequel. Self-pubbing requires the author to wear multiple hats, multi-task, and maneuver the shadowy land of criticism. 

The Call.
A year and a half after I published To the Sea, my debut indie new adult novel, (followed by the companion novella Surfaced, and the second full-length in the series In the Desert came out), the editor at Skyscape Publishing reached out to me expressing interest in my young adult novel SUGAR. It was a delightful surprise and shortly after I signed the contract. 
Was there confetti? Yes. 
Was there lots of happy-squees? Absolutely. 
Was there some uncertainty and tummy bubbles? Yep. 

But after all those years of querying and hoping to have the novel that meant so much to me reach a broad audience, I was ready to take the leap. 

The Traditional.
While Skyscape isn't part of the "Big 5", it's my understanding that they operate in much the same way, meaning the manuscript received a round of "big picture" revisions and several line and copy editing passes to get the ms "Deirdre perfect". Compared to doing it all myself as an indie, working with a team with a shared vision pushed me to grow as a writer, they helped shape and hone the story into having more clarity and depth. They also handled the cover (with my input). While I enjoyed making the covers on my indie books, the skills of the professionals added a certain kind of polish that I couldn't accomplish on my own.

The Promo.
As an indie, I've had to come out of my introvert-ish shell. It falls on me to put my books and myself into the lit world, connect with readers, and collaborate with fellow authors. Much of what I did for To the Sea was a learning process, casting the net wide and trying new things, learning what worked and what didn't as I went. For my trad-books, I was generously given a marketing team and two publicists who pulled back the curtain, offering review opportunities, interviews, and guest posts that I wouldn't have been able to access on my own.

The Hybrid.
In the time since, I've completed over twenty manuscripts. Some will never see the light of day, a handful I hope to go back to at some point to infuse them with new life, and still others I'm hoping to publish sooner rather than later. 

The indie process gave me valuable insight into the work required to get a book to print and made me appreciate all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to create the books I love to read. 

On the other side, I've gone on to see SUGAR reach readers in a powerful and meaningful way and value the solid team work required to make that happen. In the last year, my sophomore novel, PEARL was bought by Skyscape, went through editing, cover creation, and promotion. 

*It's worth noting, that many aspects of self-publishing can be delegated to the pros: cover creation, editing (this is a good idea!), promo, etc. However, it all comes at a cost so if you're just getting started, you may not have the capital to invest. On the flip side, you can look at those costs as an investment in your career. 

The Verdict.
There are aspects of being an indie author that I like: creating my own publishing schedule, having direct influence over all aspects of the process, and receiving the support of the author and reader community is phenomenal. 

As for being a traditionally published author, working with the editing and marketing crews, and publicists have done things for my writing and extended my reach beyond what I could ever have done alone. 

While I know that my choices as a hybrid author aren't the only path to take or ways to make a book happen, I count myself lucky to have both experiences and hope to continue to both self and traditionally publish.
For more some of my author reflections. For more on my writing and publication journey.
If you have any other questions that I didn't answer, please ask them in the comments below.

On Writing and Anxiety

I've been keeping a secret, sorta. I mean, you never asked so I've never told, but I'm ready to come clean. There's a piece to my writing life that I've left out of my story of how I got started writing and my path to publication and why I write. 
Ready? Here it is.
*Deep breath.*
My name is Deirdre, and I have anxiety. 

I'm sharing this because May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and there's no reason for me to keep it quiet when I know other people may have a similar experience; together, we're stronger, right?
The reason I haven't shared this is because telling people gives me anxiety. In fact, that's a good starting place to discuss the subject because anxiety begets itself; it creates a loop. I live with anxiety, but talking about it, sharing it with others creates a new layer of anxiety and so it goes round and round.
The questions can start like this:
Will people think I'm crazy?
Will they read into what I've said?
Wait, what did I say?
Was it weird?
Will they make fun of me?
Think I'm unstable?
Am I unstable?
And so on and so on ad nauseum.
Anxiety comes in many forms, and I'm discussing generalized anxiety disorder as defined by the National Institute for Mental Health:


I'm by no means a professional, expert, or doctor, even though I occasionally pretend to be one in fiction. I also want to be clear that I'm talking about my experience and it's by no means prescriptive or blanket or even absolute. What I really want to talk about is how writing and storytelling has helped me manage my symptoms and how it's helped me heal.
Here's the thing: anxious thoughts are stories we tell ourselves.
In other words, the worries we have are stories, in our brains, the same as that idea for my next manuscript. Unless the fear is currently happening in the present, in which case it isn't really a fear, but reality and demands an entirely different scenario for how to handle it, anxiety and worry thoughts aren't real. With the aid of our brilliant imaginations, we make them up. 

This is a bit of a simplification because anxiety can often arise from situations we previously found ourselves in (however, that verges more toward PTSD, another topic entirely). 

Standard worries tend to be sticky and we may have the same ones repeatedly or fear the recurrence of a past experience. When seen in the light of day it may not be overly anxiety-inducing, but when pulled into the glue of anxiety, we fear, we're certain that it'll happen all over again. Our brains can be tricksy like that. But that's not the present, it's expectation and what ifs and a trick of the mind. 
'Cos if it ain't happenin', it ain't happenin'.
This is to say that being mindful of our present situation can work wonders. Tuning into the texture of the couch, the tickle of my hair against my cheek, the birds chirping outside, the relative stability surrounding me and dropping into it (and away from the scenarios playing on repeat in my mind) is one way to help manage the worry. But it's a practice and usually it takes me a few tries to really get it when I'm in an anxiety lather. However, being present to what's going on around me has helped me tremendously. And therapy and a host of other things...
And so has writing. Creating fictional worlds where characters play out situations has given me the opportunity to jump the groove of well-worn worries and fear based thinking.
Here's how I do this:
1. Acknowledge the worry I'm having is just my mind tricking me out of the present. (What a jerk! Just kidding, my amygdala and hippocampus don't always play nice, but we're working it out, learning how to share—it's todldler business.)
2. Root myself in the present. This might simply be a matter of looking at my surroundings both outwardly and inwardly. 

Feet on the floor: Plush carpet? Smooth tile? Cork? Trampoline? 

Then taking a deep breath, and connecting with a person in my proximity. All these things centralize myself to where I am.
3. Take a deep breath. And another and another. I'm a shallow-breather-breath-holder. Often this is the source of the problem because the message I'm sending my nervous system is danger, danger, when really it's girl, breathe!
4.  As a writer, I often have project ideas floating around in my head, so I latch onto one and ask, what would so and so do right now or if taking them into my world doesn't fit, I work them through a scene in theirs. Then this takes me onto the page, and I'll think of lines of dialog or the color of a dress I was stuck on.
See, it's all about managing my imagination. The thing is, I don't always get to choose my initial thoughts, but once I'm aware of them, I can direct them. 

I used to see anxiety as a huge burden, as something wrong with me (like I was saying above about how anxiety begets itself, having anxiety about anxiety! Whoa.) But now I try to look at it as an opportunity. 

What can I learn about myself in this situation right now? 

What do I need? 

What am I lacking? 

How can I use this perceived shortcoming as fuel? 

I can take care of myself. I can write. I can be open about it and connect with others.
Another thing I learned is that oftentimes anxiety triggers are a matter of stepping on the edge of comfort zones. So often with those of us who are especially creative and imaginative stepping into the space of putting ourselves out there, sharing the things we have to give, (for example our stories,) is scary times. It's as though our minds want to protect us from fear of failure, embarrassment, typos! by wrapping us up in another narrative about how we're not safe, adding another layer about how people won't like us, and another sheet about something else entirely and then taping it up tight with a little card on top that says what we're doing is pointless, stupid, redundant, etc. It hides the truth of what we're really here to put forth.
So here are some new questions I ask myself:
What is the craziest, most unique idea I can come up with that works in fiction?
How can I paint sentences that give readers a clear and beautiful and compelling picture of the story?
What can I draw from in real life to give the story texture and density?
Am I weird? I still sometimes ask myself that one, but I'm ok with either answer. I'm totally weird. It's kinda cool actually.
Will they make fun of me? Well, they might. There might be terrible reviews, people who misunderstand my intent, some who just don't connect with the story, and others who just aren't on the level, y'know? My work isn't for them and that's ok too.
The last one, am I unstable? No. I am a person with anxiety who does better some days than others managing it. And I'm not alone. There are many writers, creatives, and artists who deal with the same thing, which means if you're reading this and you have anxiety, whether or not you write or draw or whatever, you are not alone. That's the shitty thing about anxiety, it tends to alienate us, when in reality, it can truly bring us together because we're not so different.
The thing I know through all of this, days spent trapped in a loop of worry, nights lying awake with the same thoughts on repeat, is not to be afraid of my mind or the world. Because our biggest gifts are just beneath bows and wrapping that worries work to hide.
For those of us with anxiety, one of the surest ways I know to access those gifts is to stay present. (See what I did there? Gifts-presence, huh? Huh?) And instead of allowing the stories we imagine to interfere with our lives and well being, use it to create words on paper.
If you're experiencing anxiety please, please get help, don't keep it a secret, reach out—as difficult as it can be. Here's a starting point. 
Here are some references for writing and anxiety specifically. 
And here's another stellar post on writing like a motherf*cker. This is a MUST read for writers. 

New Adult Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to the New Adult Scavenger Hunt! 

Curious?

The NA Scavenger Hunt is similar to YASH (if you've been hanging around the blog you'll remember it from a couple of weeks ago). NewASH is a biannual event to give readers a chance to receive bonus material from their favorite authors, find new books, and have the opportunity to win great prizes, including what else? 

Books!
It works like this: there are two teams (right now you're on TEAM PURPLE). Each participating author leaves a numerical clue. Add up the clues and enter to win the grand prize! Find the complete details, rules, and frequently asked questions here. Remember, the game goes lightning fast: 72 hours to be exact. 


What are you waiting for? Go! Go! Go.  




I'm hosting Lisa Swallow, author of the

 Butterfly Days: BECAUSE OF LUCY
About the book


An emotional new adult romance about two people struggling to escape others’ expectations, and about a third person who changes all their lives.

Ness watches girls fall over themselves for Evan’s attention, but she has no interest in the hot English student who includes poetry in his seduction techniques.
Evan is amused by the uptight girl who refuses to fall for his charms, and engages in a battle of wits to win her over. But Evan is struggling with a side of his life he keeps hidden and the secretive behaviour threatens his emerging relationship with Ness.
When life doesn't go as planned and everything falls apart, Ness and Evan are both faced with difficult choices. All because of Lucy.

About the author


Lisa is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. She is originally from the UK but moved to Australia in 2001. She now lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband, three children, and Weimaraner, Tilly, who often makes appearances on Lisa’s social media.

Lisa’s first publication was a moving poem about the rain, followed by a suspenseful story about shoes. Following these successes at nine years old there was a long gap in her writing career, until she published her first book in 2013.

Lisa studied English at the University of Leeds and has worked as an English teacher in France, as an advertising copywriter in England, and ran her own business in Australia.

She lived in Europe as a child and also traveled when she left university where she found inspiration for some of her book locations. These days, Lisa is happy in her writing cave under Tilly’s supervision.Find out more at Lisa's Website.
And connect with her here:Amazon - Website - Facebook - Twitter 
More about the Butterfly Days: BECAUSE OF LUCY
Here is an extra scene from this new 2016 edition of the book:

Here's a sneak peek at one of their conversations from one of the new scenes:“See you later, Evan.” I step into the rain; I’d also rather get soaked than watch what happens next.Evan catches up to me. “Where are you going?”“Home.”“Don’t you want this?” He holds out the mug. The rain trickles off his large hand and I meet his eyes.“What?”“I’m waiting for you, you idiot.”“Don’t call me an idiot.”“You’re bloody funny. Can we not stand in the rain?” He indicates the sheltered building and my shoes fill with water as I follow him back through the puddles. “Here.”“You drove out here to bring me coffee?” I take the warm cup in my damp hands.“Yeah. That okay?”“Why do that?”“I went to your house to see you and Abby told me you were at work.”“You could’ve left your number for me.”“I could’ve, but I didn’t.” He steps closer and brushes rain from my face with cool fingers. “I wanted to see you.”“Jesus, my head hurts enough.” The rain continues, and I sit on the nearby bench. My stomach fills with familiar butterflies as Evan sits next to me. “You’re a confusing guy.”“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”“No, it isn’t.”“Nicer than misogynist, anyway.”I stare at my damp feet. What the hell is going on here?“Don’t you like coffee?” He points at the cup. “Are you a tea drinker? Earl Grey or something fancy from a china cup?” I scowl at his teasing, but the friendly eyes and that smile pull me in. “I’ll bring tea next time, but I might spill it if you insist on the posh cup.”I sip and shake my head. “Coffee is good. Thank you.”“No problem.” We lapse into silence, and the rain hits the metal roof above us. The girls leaving work splash through the puddles, a couple of them throwing curious looks in our direction. “You busy tonight?”What? “Um. Yes. No. Not really.”“Is that a multiple choice quiz? Do I have to tick a box?”“I’m a bit tired after last night.”“You do look a bit—” He bites his lip. “Tired.”“Crap?”“You couldn’t look crap, Ness. You look better when you smile, though.”“Smooth, Evan.”He stares across the car park and hitches his coat upwards, closer to his face. “No.”“What?”“That’s your answer. No, you’re not busy tonight, and you’d love to see the smooth Evan Hyde who nobly braves inclement weather to bring you coffee.”“‘Nobly braves inclement weather’? Very poetic.” I shiver, he's right about the bloody awful weather.Evan shrugs. “Okay, drives through the shithouse Northern winter.”I smile and he pokes my cheek. “There it is. Come on, Ness. Let me take you out.”“So you can kiss me and run away again?”Evan  wrinkles his nose and shakes some of his damp fringe from his eyes. “How about if I promise not to run away this time?”“How about you don’t presume I want to kiss you again?”


To continue the hunt, you need to visit the next author: 
Clara Stone 

And remember, you're on TEAM PURPLE & my 
lucky book number is 74.

I'm offering a BONUS drawing for a chance for one lucky 

reader to win a digital copy of KINDLED, the companion

 novella for ON THE MOUNTAIN (the book up for grabs for

the  Team Purple winner). AND a $5 Amazon Gift Card! 

Please enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hang on, no one walks away empty handed. Even if you don't win the NewASH grand prize or the bonuses above, you can still get a free book! YES! 




THROUGH THE JUNGLE is a prequel-sequel novelette to the Follow your Bliss series & is a quick, must read! Simply sign up for my enewsletter, specify your preferred format (whether you read on Kindle (mobi), Nook (epub), or if  you'd like a PDF), and I'll send you a copy for free!

Thank you for stopping by, participating, loving books & 
supporting authors! If you'd like to get your friends in on the 
fun, please copy, paste & share:

 Twitter: Scavenger Hunt for books & exclusive content on 
the @NAScavengerHunt Going on now!http://www.deirdreriordanhall.com/ind... #NewASH
&
Facebook: Want a chance to win some new adult novels and 
other goodies? The New Adult Scavenger Hunt is going on 
NOW! Check out exclusive content from loads of authors, 
add up the secret numbers, and enter to win! http://www.deirdreriordanhall.com/ind...

Thanks again and please leave a comment below sharing the books you'd like to win, your most hotly anticipated spring break read, or just to say hi. 

A few of my favorite things. Spring 2016

A few of my favorite things. Spring 2016 by deirdrespark featuring photography wall art'


Spring is here at last. (At last!) The rainy days bring buds and blossoms and mornings spent reading good books and sipping tea. The sunshine brings flowers and afternoons spent outside breathing the mud tinged air, wandering, and smiling because the warmth feels so good. 

Here are a few of my favorite things for this season. Check out past posts in this series here and here. Oh and here and here too. I didn't realize I've been sharing my faves for so many seasons. 

What are your favorite things for spring? Please share in the comments below. 

Writing Life One Liners

It took me a while to cut the chaff and limit comments to 140 characters, but I did it. Most of the time. Thank you Twitter for teaching me brevity. 

Here are some favorite and classic and admittedly overlooked Tweets about writing life or writing and life, depending on how you want to look at it, one-liners that I fully stand by. 

You are your best kept secret. https://t.co/TPwkbnBXh6— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 23, 2016

Smart is sexy.— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 23, 2016

Dust off your wings, someday you will fly.— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 20, 2016

When in doubt:
1. Go to bookshelf, bookstore, library, or online bookseller.
2. Buy/borrow book.
3. Read book.— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 23, 2016

Your dreams are magic. pic.twitter.com/Toaxaz1vKY— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 19, 2016

When I read (and when I write) I like to experience the evolution of the characters, not one-note predictability. #amreading #amwriting— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 18, 2016

My name is Deirdre and I am addicted to words.— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 17, 2016

Don't let your perception of anyone else's success defeat you.— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 10, 2016

Lunch break, time to take my unicorn for a walk. #amwritingfantasy— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 7, 2016

There are thousands, if not millions, of ways to tell a story. But only one of you. #writing #writetips— Deirdre (@DeirdreSpark) March 4, 2016

And that's all she wrote! Well, not really, but let's connect on Twitter, there's a lot more where that came from! 
P.S. An oldie but goodie >> A way back play back of my Top 40 Tweets.

Pearly, Pearl, Pearl News & Links & Guacamole!

Pearl has been out in the wild for just about a month now and my oh my I'm so appreciative for the response, the reviews, and the overall awesomeness. Thank YOU! Kisses and hugs!


While I've been fully relishing and enjoying this wave of excitement, I've also been surfing in real life, eating my weight in guacamole, and am having some serious Downton Abbey withdrawal. Anyone else?



Here are a few updates and exciting news nuggets:

Kirkus says about PEARL: "A character-driven book for readers who like their fare on the intense side." 

Fangirlish exclusive interview and discussion on the hard-edged aspects of life.

Author Cheyanne Young comments: "I loved when she loved and I cried when she cried. AND BOY DID I CRY. That is the magic of this novel: the way that it makes you feel... If you’re a fan of Sarah Dessen or Maggie Stiefvater, you’ll love this book."

Nino from Enchanted Readers really "gets" PEARL. 

Tonya Lee at Lily Bloom Books made PEARL the book of the month and said: "Deirdre’s writing is metaphorical, lyrical and just straight up beautiful. I would listen to/read her writing all day long. She flawlessly wrote a realistic situation and didn’t hold back when it came to pain, or the terrible decisions her characters, especially Pearl, made. I love it when an author doesn’t hold back and shows us that not everything is what it seems and challenges us. There was so much emotion packed into the writing, you could feel it. I cried, I laughed, and then I cried some more."

Q & A with moi over at Spare Time Book Blog with a speed round!  

Also, if you get VOYA magazine, check out the review in the April issue! They said: "Sometimes a book touches readers so deeply that it stands apart. Top-notch writing, excellent characterization, and a plot that illustrates but never preaches puts Pearl at the top of the stack. Heartbreaking, gritty, and absolutely unforgettable, Pearl belongs in every teen library.” 

PEARL also appears in the School Library Journal: “A read for mature teens looking for realistic fiction dealing with the struggles of addiction, love, and identity.”

Last, but not least, there are loads of reviews, photo aesthetics, and more on my Tumblr and Insta if you want to have a peek.

Thanks for reading and if you haven't checked out PEARL yet, you can get a hardcover, paperback, Kindle, or audio copy here and add it to your Goodreads TBR here. 




P.S. Stay up to date on all the news and noteworthy PEARLISH goodies over here and subscribe to my newsletter. 

YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to the YA Scavenger Hunt! 
My name is Deirdre Riordan Hall & I'm the author of PEARL. I'm your host for this stop on the YA Scavenger Hunt and am on the GOLD TEAM. 

Before we get started, I want to introduce myself and the newest member to our pack. Meet Chewie; yes, his grandpapa is Chewbacca. He keeps my feet warm while I write and is the friendliest little guy ever, which makes it easier for me to forgive him for waking me up at night. I'm glad you stopped by my blog. Are you ready for the scavenger hunt? Let's do this!


So, what is the YA Scavenger Hunt? 
This bi-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 on my team! 
But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online  From Tuesday, March 29th at 12 pm Pacific Time until Sunday, April 3rd at noon Pacific time.




How do I play? 
Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are NINE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all. I am a part of the GOLD TEAM--but there is also a red team, a blue team, an orange team, a red team, and an indie team for a chance to win a whole different set of 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 page.

How does the YA Scavenger Hunt work?
Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the GOLD 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 Sunday, April 3rd at noon Pacific time. (Here's a time calculator to find out when that is.) Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.


Okay, ready to get to the fun stuff? Here we go! 
I'm hosting Lisa Amowitz  for the YA Scavenger Hunt, the author of UNTIL BETH! 


Lisa is an award winning author of three fantasy/thrillers for young adults,
UNTIL BETH [Spencer Hill Press, 2015], VISION [Spencer Hill Press, 2014], and BREAKING GLASS [Spencer Hill Press, 2013].
​
She is also a cover designer and
​Professor of Graphic Design at Bronx Community College. www.bcc.cuny.edu

She is represented by
Shannon Hassan of Marsal-Lyon Literary Agency 
***Visit Lisa on Twitter and Facebook.


Talented rock guitarist Beth Collins has been barely holding herself together for months, ever since her boyfriend and bandmate became the latest victim in a string of suspicious disappearances. When her brother is injured an accident and she sees something dark billowing around him as he hovers close to death, she’s convinced her sanity is collapsing for good.

Then she's accepted by a boarding school for the musically gifted. All of her new friends are bursting withtalent, but they're also keeping secrets. Can she trust Vincent, who's so sweet that his very touch makes her fears melt away? Or Xavier, who's trying to tell her something but is hiding even more?

And will anyone be safe when her true Talent comes out?
Check out more here.

And now for the super awesome exclusive content from UNTIL BETH by Lisa Amowitz!

Hi! Lisa here, author of Until Beth, Vision, and Breaking Glass. In all three of my books, even though there are dark paranormal forces at work, basic human character traits and actual (thinly disguised locations) play a big part. Often the books are set in hybrid mash-ups of the locales that fired my imagination in the first place.
Until Beth first popped into my mind as most of my books often do, during one of the summers I spent with my husband and children in a rented house in the Hudson River Valley in New York State. Every summer we’d rent a different place with its own unique features. As a hectic urban professor, those languid summers gave my imagination a place to breathe.
UNTIL BETH, starts in a mythical Connecticut town, then features fictional locations in both Massachusetts and New York State. The settings have been drawn from my own travels and stitched together like a quilt to form the eerie backdrop for my books.
Besides stitching together separate and disparate locations to concoct the unique and spooky setting for UNTIL BETH, I also grafted in a character from an older (unpublished book). UNTIL BETH was originally written as my fourth book, before I ever wrote BREAKING GLASS and VISION and was then set aside. Two years later I decided to exhume it and rebuild the book from scratch, and realized that Xavier, one of my favorite characters from an abandoned manuscript would fit perfectly.  Can I admit that I had a serious crush on my own character? Vincent is kind of a close second. Check out my Pinterest Board and see why.

Follow Lisa's board Until Beth mood board on Pinterest.
My exclusive content is a visual peek into the world of UNTIL BETH, the locations the people, the creep factor. Enjoy! If you comment below I’ll pick someone at random to send a custom signed UNTIL BETH guitar pick necklace. Or visit my blogand enter my contest to win a signed copy of UNTIL BETH along with a digital copy of BREAKING GLASS (print version US only—International digital only.)
Thanks for having me, Deirdre Riordan Hall!



And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a book by me, Deirdre Riordan Hall and a bunch of other amazing authors including ! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 14. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the GOLD TEAM and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
AND THERE'S MORE!!!



About PEARL

Run fast and run far, unless you’re fearless. Unless you’re courageous. I’m not, but I’d like to be.Pearl Jaeger is seventeen and homeless after drugs, poverty, and addiction unraveled the life she shared with JJ, her formerly glamorous rock star mother.This moment of happiness is fleeting; someone will take it from me.When tragedy brings a chance to start over at an elite boarding school, she doesn’t hesitate. Yet the only salvation comes from an art teacher as troubled as Pearl, and she faces the stark reality that what she thought she wanted isn’t straightforward.I trace the outline of my reflection in a window. I am no more than a replica of my mother. This is not the self-portrait I want to paint.
Through the friendships she forms at school—especially with Grant, a boy who shows Pearl what it means to trust and forgive—she begins to see a path not defined by her past. But when confronted with the decision to be courageous or to take the easy way forged by her mother’s failures, which direction will Pearl choose?

Wait, before you go, enter to win a second prize drawing for a chance to win an MP3 Audio copy of PEARL (<Find out more here) read by the amazing Brittany Presley, a lovely necklace & and some sweet swag! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 
*This drawing is only open to residents of the US. Sorry international readers! 
The main YA Scavenger Hunt is open internationally.


CONTINUE THE SCAVENGER HUNT...
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! The one and only Carly Anne West! And remember, you're on TEAM GOLD right now :) 

Leave a comment  below sharing your progress, the books you're hoping to win, or just to say hi! P.S. Thank you for stopping by, participating & supporting authors! If you'd like to get your friends in on the fun, share on TWITTER Tweet #YASH and FACEBOOK! 

Why I wrote Pearl

Writing this post was on my calendar the Monday before last, then I moved it to Tuesday, and before I realized it, the weekend arrived and I still hadn't found the words, the why…
Why did I write PEARL?
The easy answer is because I couldn't not write it. But that isn't an elaborate blog post or the full story.
So, really, why?
I needed to write PEARL because there are girls like her who've lived in families with addiction, abuse, with loss, and heartbreak, girls like me. 

For years the strands of this story wrote themselves into the fabric of my thoughts until one day I put pen to paper with the scratches of ideas and eventually found my fingers on the keyboard with an inkling of a first draft…and then there were at least ten more versions afterward. (The original opening scene was on a street corner and involved the exchange of a banned book and chocolate. There were diary entries and the dial on tragedy was much higher.)
But back to the why. This was a story I wanted to tell; to create a narrative of juxtaposition, to place two potentially conflicting themes side by side: rich and poor, loneliness and belonging, vulnerability and strength, love and loss. But that's not the full story either because those themes also complement each other. At least in this instance, like two sides of a coin, they require us to rub both faces between our finger and thumb in order to shine.
An author friend recently wrote an article making the distinction between authors who need to write and those who want to write. I contemplated what composes me as an author and came to the conclusion, at least for now, like so many aspects of who I am—and who Pearl is—that I'm both a writer who needs and wants to tell stories. Paradox tends to rule my life. I need to write like I need to laugh, smile, and be with the people I love. I want to write in much the same way, but mostly it's because I want to connect. 
So, really, what kind of author am I?
Need, a requirement.
Want, a desire.
I'm a writer whose mind leaps, spins, and pirouettes with creativity, day and night and in the twilight moments between moments. Without a channel to funnel that energy into, I find myself anxious, unsettled. I need an outlet. It's a personal truth. I need to write—whether it's about the children of addicts, victims of abuse, mermaids, or Shakespeare retellings. I also believe telling stories is something some of us, many of us, require to connect, to reach through what we see on the exterior: pigtails, brown eyes, braces, knobby knees, unlaced sneakers, and into the webs that draw us together: the raw stuff of longing, friendship, love, perseverance, and hope, just to name a few.
Similarly, I believe within each person lay treasures, dirt encrusted jewels lodged in the depths of our being, and it's up to us to find a medium with which to extricate them…or maybe the medium chooses us—as is the case with most forms of art. For me, I'm a person who needs to polish these gems with words.


But I'm also a writer who wants to write. When an idea sparks, wild, giddy joy rushes through me. When I'm drifting to sleep, ideas, single words, entire scenes pinch me awake and I pop on the book light and pull out my pen to make a note as a smile brushes my lips with wonder at where this stuff comes from. (*Looks starward, thanks universe.*)
My curiosity feeds this want and I follow it down sunny lanes, dim corridors, trailing characters and settings. Sometimes I arrive at dead ends and other times, entire worlds open up. 

When the ideas for a story fill me to near-brimming, I know it's time to let it pour out, and delight in losing sense of time, worries, and the nigglings of life. Don't get me wrong, it isn't always easy: I get stuck, lost, confused, but the enchantment and magic and awe of this privilege, of storytelling, of saying yes! to doing something I want far outweighs the trickiness of it.  

I am an author who needs and wants to write. So I do, every day, which brings me to another question, what kind of book is Pearl?
Pearl is about grit and second chances, memories and potential, recklessness and redemption. The story is about friendships that turn into sisterhoods, the salvation of art, and learning what it is to trust and forgive. Pearl chases a tiger's tail only to eventually decide to be done with it and bite the thing clean off.
Pearl was me exploring the impact of addiction on families, how a person can straddle socio-economic lines, how sometimes a girl has to make her own mistakes and choices, and learn the exquisite power of struggling and triumph. 

Writing Pearl took courage, but ultimately brought me peace. It required humility and a quieting of my busy mind to distill all the questions I ask myself to this: which risks are worth taking? It asks us to in what instances is it better to choose what we know or cast ourselves into the great unknown and rely not only on our own inner resources, but the extended hands of friends, teachers, and even, sometimes, strangers.
Pearl is story of finding something believed to be tainted, tarnished and keeping it close, maybe wiping away dirt and tears, adding some polish, and seeing that really, it was beautiful, maybe even all along.

During a dance performance I recently attended, as I leaned in close, as though by doing so my proximity would transmit to me the same kind of concentrated joy on the faces of the dancers, I remembered that I once believed I'd never be happy. In that exuberant moment with live music directing movement through space, a pair of tears drifted down my cheeks. How sad for me, to have lived for so many years with the belief that I'd never be happy. How silly, embarrassing, unsettling… I sat there, a stranger in the audience, and continued to watch the dancers lift and glide, the music floating through all of us in attendance and transmitting that timeless something…the thing of connection. Then my experience transformed because I realized that when we connect, when we form bridges, everlasting pathways, even ones made of the intangible: sound, the physical: dance, and the visual: words, we find and share happiness. 

And that's what I do with writing; I bring my wants and needs to wrestle with the ugly and painful until what's left alchemizes into something in which I see beauty and makes me happy. 

I hope my words connect with readers and that they too glean their inner-extraordinary from unhappiness and sadness. And from the darkness too. If not, let's look up, there are stars in the sky.


*This article also appeared on Hypable.