Melissa C. Walker's Blog, page 53

Cover Stories: 3 at Unabashedly Bookish

I've been posting some Cover Stories over at Barnes and Noble's Unabashedly Bookish blog, so I wanted to shout them out here, with excerpts: [image error] Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley. "For the first book, Sucks to be Me, I actually made a cover mock up with one of those old-school notebooks and a goofy-looking fanged bat. It was really silly. I'm glad they did what they did instead!" [image error] 8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. "The original title for a long while was LONG TIME NO ME, and I ha...

Cover Stories: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti (+ Contest!)

[image error] Last year, Susane Colasanti shared the Cover Story for her Dawson's Creek-esque image on Waiting For You , and now she's back with a new release--Something Like Fate (a book I dropped in Madrid for Operation Teen Book Drop!). Also, I have an extra ARC of this book so one lucky commenter will win that, too. Just comment below and leave your cover thoughts before May 5th.Take it away, Susane!"Before Something Like Fate, my book covers shared a similar theme. They all featured a boy on the left ...

Asian Americans in the Fashion Industry

This awesome event is happening tomorrow (Sunday) in NYC. Go if you can! [image error] It's organized by Miss Couturable herself, Noel Duan, who says:"This is a mega-panel discussion with top Asian American figures in the fashion industry in order to promote the education and discussion of fashion and careers in fashion. In accordance to this year's theme, 'Deeper,' we hope to dive deeper into exploring the different ways in which Asian Americans have made revolutionary contributions.Our confirmed panelists...

Photo Friday: Spain (In Food + Books!)

I am going to have to devote a few Photo Fridays to Spain. I just must! This first one? It's about food and books, naturally.First: This was my very favorite thing! Fried lemon leaves at a street fair in Murcia (where the next day they had a festival and everyone wore traditional Spanish clothing--so cool!):[image error] [image error]There were amazing little beers in Spain, called canas (with a ~ that my blog won't accept--lame). Here's Becky with her first cana, and the beach where we stayed in Nerja:[image error] [image error]And, on our ...

Cover Stories: The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

Kay Cassidy has been having a huge launch party (including prizes galore!) for her debut novel, The Cinderella Society , so of course I had to invite her over for cover talk... here she is: [image error] "I envisioned the cover of The Cinderella Society in the vein of the Princess Diaries boxed set (volumes 1-3) with the cute pillow and tiara. Although with slightly stronger colors so the glass slipper would really pop. I liked the feminine feel, though I figured mine would probably be in the purple spectrum...

Win-It Wednesday: Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

The winner of the 4-book set from last time is... Janet! Thanks for all the tweets and blog posts and even a youtube video about the contest--you guys rule. [image error] Okay, I'm reading this book right now and it's awesome. Signature Sarah Mlynowski brilliance with a major plot twist: Devi finds a cell phone on which she can call her older self. So it's told from two perspectives: Freshman Devi and Senior Devi. How will Sarah pull this off? I can't wait to finish it. And after I do... you can win it! I'...

Cover Stories: Mia the Magnificent by Eileen Boggess

[image error] I usually feature Young Adult books in the Cover Stories slot, but today I have Middle Grade author Eileen Boggess talking about her Mia trilogy. Here's a little about the latest book, Mia the Magnificent: "Mia Fullerton's life so far has been a series of misadventures, sometimes exciting, sometimes mortifying, and always hilarious (to anyone but Mia). But having already battled her shyness in Mia the Meek and acquired new confidence in Mia the Melodramatic, Mia has to face her greatest chall...

PAYA Library Auction! (And: Home!)

I got one of the last flights out of Madrid. The volcanic ash cloud didn't stop me from coming home, and I feel so lucky. Phew! [image error] Now that I'm back, I have to tell you that Harmony is doing an awesome auction to benefit PA libraries, and I'm offering up this selection of goods at left.That's the new OK GO cd, some bright and fun Sugarpill eyeshadow, and a signed copy of Lovestruck Summer . All I Heart Daily approved, of course. Go bid! All the proceeds go to PA libraries... win, win, win to infin...

Cover Stories: When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

[image error] How great is this title (any Ryan Adams fans out there?)? How great is this cover?Especially because I'm still in Spain (for one more day! Ahhh!) and this is muy flamenca, I had to share the image. Barb (Caridad) wrote her own Cover Story on her blog, and here's an excerpt:"I don't know why I gravitated to so many of the back-facing portraits. Generally, I'm not a huge fan, but I think it's because even with their backs to the viewer, the models have such life and movement. It's as if I'm bre...

Operation Teen Book Drop Day!

[image error] What's today? It's Operation Teen Book Drop day!This is the third year readergirlz has helped lead the effort, and this year they'll be delivering 10,000 new books to teens on Native reservations and tribal lands. To learn more about the effort and rgz partners, check out the Operation TBD page. Many thanks to GuysLitWire, YALSA and If I Can Read I Can Do Anything!All you have to do is leave a book in a public space for some lucky reader to find. Viola! You've rocked the drop. (Grab an...