May Romance Blogfest

Hi and welcome to my bloggy home on the internet :)

I'm excited to be a part of the Romance Blogfest this month and I have several books to share with you!

Read on down the page to learn about my work

and enter the giveaways for Hush Puppy and for my newest novel, Vessel~

Hush Puppy by Lisa T. Cresswell
Featherweight Press, 2013

Hush Puppy is the story of Corrine Lamb, a seventeen year old black girl, and Jamie Armstrong, a poor white boy, living in a backwater North Carolina town. Intelligent Corrine, abandoned by her mother, and artsy Jamie, forced to play football by a redneck father, both dream of leaving their podunk town and never looking back.

Their shared love of literature and a dream of a better life brings them together and a romance blossoms between them in a secret place of their own in the steamy North Carolina woods. When Jamie is involved in the accidental death of a white girl, he's terrified of his abusive father. Corrine takes the blame to protect Jaime, with dire consequences for herself and her dreams of the future. Her life in danger, Corrine's left wondering if Jamie ever cared about her at all.

The events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin underscore how prevalent fear and hate still is in our country. Sadly, many of the themes explored in Hush Puppy are extremely relevant to today's youth. It's my hope that Hush Puppy is a story not only about poverty and race, but about hope, friendship, and the power of love. Enjoy~

 
                            

~Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive~

Simple and stunning, Hush Puppy is an emotionally powerful story that will stay with readers long after they’ve closed the final page. Crisp, evocative prose and a refreshingly realistic black protagonist make this novel a standout among YA literature. This uncommon YA novel is highly recommended, especially for public and school libraries. The difficult topics the book so deftly addresses are relevant today, and even the day-to-day difficulties of the high school classroom are presented realistically and without dramatic overindulgence.

With a lot of emotion and skill, Cresswell weaves together a story that promotes the power of friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Hush Puppy is a sweet, sweet story of conquering prejudices, forgiveness and family, and a reminder that positive perspective, determination, and the support of one special person are enough to overcome whatever trauma life may deal.

To read an excerpt and more about the author, click on over to www.lisatcresswell.com~ You can add her books to your 'to be read' list on Good Reads too!

~Meet Corrine~

My name is Corrine Lamb and my tombstone better not read "Born, lived, and died in Carolville, North Carolina". If I don't get outta this redneck town, go to college, and see the world, I'll be a complete failure. I'll join the Peace Corps if I have to. I live with my grandma, who’s about as protective as it gets. I guess she’s trying to make up for my mama running off and leaving me after daddy died. I had my whole life figured out before Jamie showed up, romancing me with his poetry and books. I never met such a crazy white boy. He’s so wicked smart, but he plays like he’s dumb so his redneck daddy won’t know. I never thought I’d fall for a white boy in a million years. He thinks he can’t go to college, but I’m gonna enter him in a writing contest for a scholarship and he’s gonna win. I just know it. He might be kinda mad when he finds out I took some of his writing, but when he wins, he’ll forget about that, right? I can’t sit by and let him waste his life. It’d be a damn shame.


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Vessel, By Lisa T. Cresswell
Month9Books, May 26, 2015

The sun exploded on April 18, 2112 in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had never seen.

They had exactly nineteen minutes.
Nineteen minutes until a geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, and every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth, humans reverted to a middle ages-like existence, books are burned as heresy, and all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs even if it's the last thing she wants.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Vessel, I'm running a month-long giveaway for a prize pack that includes a Month9Books insulated tumbler, a Vessel notebook, a tea blend (like the one Recks makes for Alana in the book), a $25 Amazon gift card, and a $10 Starbucks gift card. Be sure to enter!

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Come join me on Goodreads, the best place for readers :)

Pre-order Vessel today!

Ramblings of an Obsessive Compulsive Writer~

Just an update for the peeps who might be interested in my writing journey.  I had hoped to report something new on the writing front by now - a new sale or a new agent - alas, no dice yet But!

I am completeing the final, final round of edits on Vessel this month and getting ready for it's release in May. The publisher Month9Books just announced an opportunity for book review bloggers to obtain early copies in exchange for honest reviews. If you're one of those bloggers and you want to read Vessel, go here!

 

If you're not a book review blogger, I guess you'll have to wait a little longer, but you can still put Vessel on your Goodreads list and tell all your friends to do the same. :)

 

In the meantime, I'll be finishing edits on two more manuscripts and continuing the search for their forever homes with the right publisher(s) over the next few months. I've enjoyed writing them simultaneously, even though they're very different from each other. One is Crawdad, a contemporary, multicultural story similar to Hush Puppy, while the other is a fantasy/adventure steam punk similar in some ways to my Storyteller series. If only writing them was a easy as making Pinterest boards for them. Whew!  Lots to do!

 

Happy Reading Peeps!

 

 

Book Covers, Reviews, and other Nonsense

I admit it. I read book reviews. Not the professional review so much as the average reader reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I read book blogger reviews too. Occasionally, I may even pick up the books that are recommended in the reviews as I did recently with A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. It was highly recommended by a blogger I know as one of the best she'd read in 2014. It was supposed to be scifi and since I was looking for scifi, I gave it a chance.

Now, being the review reader that I am, I added the book to my Goodreads list and looked at the reviews. Just a warning here, the book is also a romancy YA novel, so the readers might be a bit different from adult novel readers. So what do you think I saw?

I saw pages and pages of readers gushing over the cover before they'd ever read it. Yes, the cover is nice. It has some pretty colors, but who would have thought a picture of two cities would set the YA readers' hearts on fire? I don't get it. I love watercolors as much as the next gal, but I also know that the inside of a book often has nothing to do with the outside. As it so happened, the inside of this book was actually disappointing to many of those Goodreads readers, who annihilated the book in various scathing reviews.

I've written enough of my own books to know just how hard it is and I've read enough to know just how subjective that is. I would no sooner walk up to an author and claw their heart out with my fingernails than post a mean spirited review, because that's what mean reviews do. By "mean" I'm talking about reviews that go on for pages belittling and denigrating  every nit picky little thing the author did or didn't do. Believe it or not, dear reader, there's a human being behind every book you read, doing their very best to entertain you. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's nothing personal, I promise you.

I have a new book coming out in 2015. Sometimes I shake in my shoes at the thought of the reviews that are sure to come, but I have to remind myself that its all subjective. Not every book is for every reader. There are certainly books I don't enjoy, but I don't take pleasure in shredding those books and their authors publically. I prefer to do something more useful with my time, like read the next book on my list.

I guess, as they say, haters gonna hate. I wish instead they would write a book of their own and just see if they could do any better before they start slinging the mud at others. What are the chances of that?

Peace~

Cover Reveal and Title Contest Presented by Month9Books

Month9Books Presents a Cover Reveal and Title Contest for
Book 2 in Heather L. Reid's Pretty Dark Nothing Series.

Help Month9Books choose a title for the next book in the Pretty Dark Nothing series!

Book 2, a follow up to Pretty Dark Nothing, will be released this fall, and we need your help picking a title. Below are two covers, each with a proposed title for Book 2 on it. We can't call it "Book 2" forever, so please take a look and comment HERE to vote on which you like best.

The winning title will be revealed at BEA 2014 and if you commented to vote and will attend BEA, Month9Books will give you a signed copy of the galley (limited to the first 20 commenters attending). Voting opens today and ends on Friday, March 14, 2014. Thanks to artist Christel Michiels for the amazing cover!

So, which do you like best?

Title choice 1:
Perfect Dark Sacrifice

Title choice 2:
Pretty Dark Sacrifice

Series: Pretty Dark Nothing
Author: Heather L. Reid
Publisher: Month9Books
Publication Date: September 2014

It’s been five weeks, two days, and eight hours since the demons forced Quinn to throw herself into the raging river, since Aaron sacrificed himself to save her, since he disappeared without a trace. No body, no sign of him at all. Everyone wants her to move on, but Quinn can’t. She’s convinced Aaron’s trying to contact her, but Azrael, her angel Sentinel, insists these visions are nothing more than the demons preying on her guilt, bent on distracting her from her true destiny as the reincarnation of Eve.

With Aaron’s fate forever entwined with Quinn’s true Sentinel, Kaemon, they both find themselves prisoner of the underworld. For Aaron, death in the river would have been easier than ending up in Lilith’s dungeons.

Heather L. Reid has always had a sense of wanderlust and a belief in the paranormal. She eats mayonnaise on her fries, loves video games, and getting lost in a good story. This native Texan now lives with her Scottish hubby in South Ayrshire, Scotland, where she spends her weekends wandering the moors in search of the ghost of William Wallace and exploring haunted castles.

Her debut young adult Paranormal, PRETTY DARK NOTHING, will be released on April 23, 2013 by Month 9 Books.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

You Pick the Cover!! Rachel Schieffelbein Cover Reveal

Run for the Roses

by Rachel Schieffelbein

Release Date: 11/2013

by Swoon Romance

Summary from Goodreads:
Abigail Conrad has spent her whole life training for one goal: to win the roses at the Arabian Youth Nationals. She’s given up friends, a social life, and doesn’t have time to even think about guys -- much less date!

Now that she’s headed off to college in the fall, it’s her last chance to be a Youth National Champion, and she won’t let anything distract her from that dream.

Except maybe Chase, the older brother of Abigail's biggest rival. He’s charming, funny, and possibly Abigail's biggest problem. How can she focus on riding when her mind keeps wandering to Chase’s green eyes and confident smile?

With her dream on the line, Abigail had better learn to fight her growing attraction to Chase, or she might end up losing the roses and the guy.

Please help Swoon Romance decide which cover to use by voting below:

About the Author

Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there, with her husband and their four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.

Author Links:

   

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Hush Puppy Blog Tour Stop #5 ~ Laura James

Today I'm over at Laura James' blog doing an interview about Hush Puppy and my writing habits. She asks some pretty entertaining questions, so you should check it out!



Hush Puppy has been receiving some of the most lovely kudos here lately. I just wanted to share a bit of a review on Amazon~ 


Hush Puppy starts out simple and sweet: a 17-year-old black girl in North Carolina meets a white boy her age and starts a friendship. Corrine's life is difficult, but it's not stereotypically tragic. It's something that many readers can relate to, as is Jamie's. Corrine handles it well, though. She tackles racism, poverty, absent parents, and peer pressure with admirable grace, usually taking the high road. She's not a Mary Sue character, though: she has moments when that decision is so hard to make. In the end, she serves as a role model for real girls.

Jamie isn't quite as strong as Corrine, taking his trials but blaming others for them. At this point, he doesn't have high hopes for the future. Jamie is right in the middle of the toughest part of his life, and he's well aware of it. There were a couple of moments in the book where I felt Jamie wasn't worth the trouble he caused, but apparently the heroine of the book had more faith in him than I did.


Hope you've gotten your copy and will review soon too!  And if you haven't gotten a copy yet, I'll be signing print books at the Barnes and Noble in Twin Falls, Idaho, on October 19, 2013 starting at 11 am.  I'll stay till they kick me out :)  Come see me if you can!

Welcome #UnCommonYA Author Elisa Nader

Broken Boys in Young Adult and New Adult

 

Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader

Today's guest author is Elisa Nader, whose Escape from Eden features the “rebellious and sexy” Gabriel, who helps the heroine in her journey. Gabriel, like all of the boys Elisa lists below, is broken in some way, and she's here to talk about why she finds these boys so alluring. Thanks, Elisa!
I’m a sucker for broken boys in books, especially in Young and New Adult titles. I’d call them “tortured heroes,” but that feels a little off to me. Broken boys are struggling, like tortured heroes, but they’re not quite adult enough, or not quite mature enough, to make us completely aggravated with them. Sure, we get frustrated, but their occasional bouts of self-pity, brooding, and assholery are, most times, understandable. They’re young, and trying to find their place in the world. Even when you guess they must be acting out, you suspect there’s a very good reason.
I set out to write a broken boy in my YA book Escape from Eden. Gabriel’s broken, but covers his pain with sardonic quips and *sigh* a bad attitude. Why did I want to write a broken boy? Because they compel me to keep reading, keep discovering what makes them who they are and why they act as they do.
Here they are, in no particular order, some of my favorite Broken Boys in YA and NA:
• Jace in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare: Abused, arrogant, angsty.

“I don't want to be a man,“ said Jace. ”I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead.“ —Jace, City of Ashes

• We should probably add Will Herondale to this list, too, from Clare’s Infernal Devices series, because talk about broken! Cursed not to love! Drawn to a Downworlder! Trying everything to save his best friend from certain death! Love. Love. Love.
• Josh in The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay: Emancipated, somewhat nihilistic teen woodworker who interacts with practically no one. Meow-za!
• Four in Divergent by Veronica Roth: He’s called Four for a reason, folks. A reason that makes him all mysterious and—yum—broken.

“I’m not sadistic.” [Four] doesn’t yell. I wish he would yell. It would scare me me less. He leans his face close to mine… And says, “If I wanted to hurt you, Don’t you think I would have done that already?”—Four, Divergent

• Warner in the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi: You think he’s psycho, but is he psycho or broken? And, in book 2 we meet his dad, who seems to be a full-fledged jackhole. (I’m team Warner, obvi).
• Gabriel and Nick in Brigid Kemmerer’s Elemental Series (Hot twins!): One thinks that everyone blames him for his parents’ death (and deals with it by being an arrogant ass), the other is harboring a secret. (Did I mention Hot? And Twins?)

She glanced between him and Gabriel. “You do his homework?”
“Just the math. It’s a miracle he can count to ten.”
“I can count to one.” Gabriel gave him the finger.

• Lucas in Easy by Tammara Webber: Tattooed, artistic, mysterious bad-boy. And he’s all glance-y. Which means plenty o’ charged eye contact between our heroine and Lucas! Oh, and he’s got a secret, too.
• Lazar in the Otherkin series by Nina Berry: A whack-a-doodle dad + isolated, strict upbringing + tortured soul + needs love = broken boy hotness personified.

“Pain wrote lines on his face, but he made it and stood, swaying. He was a murdering bastard, but he had guts. With his high cheekbones, broad shoulders, and tousled blond hair, he looked like a bloody, vengeful angel. Only his eyes gave away the poison inside.” About Lazar, Otherkin

• All three Fuentes Brothers in the Perfect Chemistry novels by Simone Elkeles. That’s right. I said ALL THREE!

“Makin' mistakes ain't a crime, you know. What's the use of having a reputation if you can't ruin it every now and then?”—Alex, Perfect Chemistry

• Matt and Finn (more brothers!) in Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park: One is awkward and nerdy, the other hot and perfect. Both broken, one well-beyond repair, the other still able to be saved by Julie, our fair heroine.

“I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. It's the way I take them OFF that makes me better than you.”—Finn, Flat-Out Love

• Sam in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater: Uh, yeah. I mean, damn. If your parents did what his parents did you him, you’d be pretty broken, too.
• Daemon in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Lux series: Hot and arrogant? YES! Alien? DING, DING! Total douche? Maybe not entirely. Humans are dangerous to him and his family? Yeah-ya. Is there so much sexual tension in this series you can bounce a coin off it? Oh damn, yes.

”You jerk.“
Grinning, he backed down the steps. ”I'll see you at noon, Kitten.“
”I hate you,“ I hissed.
”The feeling's mutual.“ He glanced over his shoulder. ”Twenty bucks says you wear a one-piece swimsuit.“—Daemon, Obsidian

• Travis in Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire: Anyone who acts like that—jackassiness and all—has to have some issues lurking behind his eyes. Right?
• The Darkling in Leigh Bardugo’s The Grisha series: I like to think he’s not totally evil. *squeezes eyes shut* *crosses fingers* *repeats to self, He’s not evil, he’s not evil, he’s not evil.*

“The problem with wanting,” he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.” —The Darkling, Shadow and Bone

• Henry in the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen: Not your typical party boy from 1899. He falls in love with the wrong girl while he’s forced to be with another girl he can’t stand (She’s totally evil, BTW).
“You love her,” Teddy observed quietly.
Henry replied with an uncharacteristic lack of irony: “Yes.”
Teddy’s eyes shifted to the plaster interlacing that decorated the ceiling in curlicues. “Lord, you never make anything easy, do you.”
“No.”—Rumors, Anna Godbersen
Help me with my list! What broken boys in YA and NA books do you love?

 

My favorite romances~

Happy Saturday peeps! 

If you've read Hush Puppy already, you'll know there's a bit of romance involved.  Someone asked me to name five favorite romance books recently.

 I have to admit, I did a bit of an uh-oh.  While I love romantic elements in books, I haven’t read any true romance novels in awhile. So, here are five (not necessarily romance) novels with romances that I loved reading.

Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Anne of Green Gables series  by L.M. Montgomery

Bridge to Tarabithia by Katherine Paterson

I think these books appeal to me because they’re about first love and all the crazy, mixed up feelings that come with that. They aren’t muddied up with baggage.  For the most part, they’re full on, head over heels, I’ll die without you-type love stories. I guess I like it complicated and messy, as you can see from my writing.  Many of these stories inspired the romance in Hush Puppy.

It's the story of Corrine Lamb, a seventeen year old, black girl, and Jamie Armstrong, a poor white boy, living in a backwater North Carolina town.  Intelligent Corrine, abandoned by her mother, and artsy Jamie, forced to play football by a redneck father, both dream of leaving their podunk town and never looking back. 

Their shared love of literature and a dream of a better life brings them together and a romance blossoms between them in a secret place of their own in the steamy North Carolina woods.  When Jamie is involved in the accidental death of a white girl, he’s terrified of his abusive father.  Corrine takes the blame to protect Jaime, with dire consequences for herself and her dreams of the future.  Her life in danger, Corrine’s left wondering if Jamie ever cared about her at all.

There's a certain Romeo and Juliet theme to the story because Corrine and Jamie keep their relationship secret from the rest of the world, although at one point, Corrine tells Jamie, "I'm not killing myself for you."  I love that "what happens when you fall in love with the wrong person?" question.

And of course, Bridge to Tarabithia was major influence on the story, mainly for it's themes of friendship and loss. It's a beautiful story everyone should read at least once.  What are your favorite romances? Let me know~