Trailer Tuesday! DON'T BREATHE A WORD by Holly Cupala

First, check out this awesome new trailer for Holly Cupala's DON'T BREATHE A WORD. Next...don't go away, because Holly has a huge contest going on where you can win some fab prizes. Read on below to find out how!

PRIZES:

Five Grand Prizes:
Signed copies of Don’t Breathe a Word, Tell Me a Secret, the TMAS special edition audiobook, bookmarks, stickers, and other swag*

Ten Runner-Up Prizes:
Don’t Breathe a Word flyers, bookmarks, stickers, and a TMAS button*

Plus the first forty people who buy the book at this link between now and Valentine’s Day get DBAW bookmarks, stickers, and undying book love from me!*

*Must include mailing address with entry. (US + up to 20% international winners)

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Click here to go to the DBAW trailer link, then click the Share button to send to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, blog, or other social network. 5 pts each

2. Buy the book at this link for more chances to win (include in your entry below)!

3. Click here to enter with your links and/or purchase!

March Madness #WIPMadness Sign-Up!

ETA: I now have enough hosts for this year's March Madness! Thanks so much, everyone!

I've mentioned it on Twitter, but I figure I better start getting organized for this year's March Madness Writing Challenge.

What is March Madness? An annual writing challenge, kind of like Nano, but we all set our own ambitious goals and then cheer each other on to complete them.

How do we cheer each other on? Through daily check-ins on blogs throughout the blogosphere.

Why will you check in? Because you will need the encouragement...and...did I mention there will be prizes?

First and foremost, I'm looking for some writers with active blogs who would like to be a check-in host for this life-changing event! You'll need to be able to host up to four times during the month of March, encourage people who check-in at your blog, and offer something in the way of a prize that a writer would really appreciate (a critique, a gift card, a really great book, etc).

I've already heard from a couple of people who want to be check-in hosts, but I'm scatterbrained, so even if this is you, please email me and confirm that you'd like to do this and have a prize of some kind to offer. My email is d (at) denisejaden (dot) com

And for those of you who aren't aware, March Madness continues year-round, in a sense, under the hashtag #wipmadness on Twitter. If you just want to join in on the fun, but don't want to host, come and find us there!!

NEVER ENOUGH Praise!

Contrary to what the title of this post implies, I feel like I've been rained upon with unbelievable amounts of praise (from some pretty amazing sources!) I've been so excited to share these ever since I first saw them. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to yet, but I see that may of them are up on Amazon...so I guess it's okay!

Praise for
Never Enough

“Denise Jaden positively nails the love-hate relationship between two polar opposite sisters who share a single quest: the desire to be perfect, regardless of the cost. A compelling, often gut-wrenching coming-of-age novel, Never Enough will haunt you long after the last page.”
—From Jeannie Garsee, author of Before, After and Somebody In Between
“Denise Jaden's Never Enough is honest, gut wrenching, and oh so beautiful.  It's a book you can't wait to share.”
—Eileen Cook, author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick
“A poignant, important book, Never Enough tackles self-esteem and body image issues while always remaining true to its three-dimensional characters. Denise Jaden has created a cliché-free zone filled with hurt, heart, and personal strength. Jaden's tender sympathy for her characters and dedication to honest storytelling shine through every page.”
—C.K. Kelly Martin, author of I Know It’s Over and My Beating Teenage Heart

“Raw and unforgettable, Never Enough is an authentic portrait of a teen girl faced with an impossible situation. Loann’s relationship with her sister is beautifully drawn and heartbreaking.”
—Tara Kelly, author of Harmonic Feedback and Amplified

"A poignant look at sisterly devotion and heartache, woven into a sweet tale
of first love and a girl coming into her own."
—Holly Cupala, author of Tell Me A Secret and Don't Breathe a Word

I'm seriously completely bowled over by this. Many authors have told me that blurbs aren't really important, especially when it comes to selling books, but I can tell you honestly that each of these blurbs is incredibly important to me. There will be days, I'm sure, when I may get inundated with people who cannot connect to my books or my writing, and it will be so wonderful to come back to these and remember that there ARE folks out there--even industry pros--who could connect.

So thank you Jeannie, Eileen, CK, Tara, and Holly. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Links, Links, Links!!!

I have a few links I'm excited to share with you...

1. First of all, if you tried to download a copy of NEVER ENOUGH from Galley Grab and were receiving an error, I have a new, shiny (working) link!

http://www.galleygrab.com/?asset_url=9781442444287

This is for bloggers, teachers, librarians...anyone who can spread the word about NEVER ENOUGH as the release date approaches.

Also, I just received some new bookmarks and postcards for NEVER ENOUGH in the mail. If you'd like some signed swag for yourself or to help pass along to others, please email me at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com and I'll send some your way!

2. You may remember my good writer-friend Elle Strauss recently released her YA Time Travel Novel, CLOCKWISE, and I featured it here on the blog? Well, Elle has just released her first middle grade novel as well, IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE, and for a short while it is being offered on Amazon TOTALLY FREE!  Here's the link.

3. And finally, my writer-friend from The Tenners, Shaun David Hutchinson (author of THE DEATHDAY LETTER), has a cool project in the works...He's launching a serial novel on his blog, a new chapter every two weeks, and letting you, the reader have input on which direction the story takes! He also has a huge section of writer tips and info, so if you're a writer, interested in the process of a pro like Shaun, you can stop on by this link.

Young Adult Giveaway Hop Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my Young Adult Giveaway Hop!

The winners:

THE HOURGLASS DOOR goes to...Andrew Uy!

and

PUCKER UP goes to...LisaILJ

Congratulations to both of you!!

Young Adult Giveaway Hop!

I'm breaking in this brand new blog location with another big giveaway from my bookshelves!

All you have to do to enter is follow this blog, pick your favorite books, and fill out the form below. Most of these books are brand new, but some have been gently read. Some are advance copies and some are even signed! This giveaway is open from now until January 31st.

I'll give away one book for every fifty entries I receive. I apologize to my international friends, but due to shipping costs, this contest is only open to people with a US mailing address (though I hope you'll follow my blog anyway :-)

The YA books you have to choose from:

If you can't see the picture well enough, scan through the list below...

THE HOURGLASS DOOR by Lisa Mangum

DESIGNATED FAT GIRL by Jennifer Joyner

A LOVE STORY STARRING MY DEAD BEST FRIEND by Emily Horner

VIRGIN TERRITORY by James Lecesne

THE DIVAS INDIA by Victoria Christopher Murray

THE DIVAS DIAMOND by Victoria Christopher Murray

I LIKE IT LIKE THAT by Cecily von Ziegesar

SIENNA SUMMER by Ann Chandler

PUCKER UP by Rhonda Stapleton

JUNGLE CROSSING by Sydney Salter

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE AND DEATH by C.K. Kelly Martin

HUSH by Eishes Chayil

REVENGE OF THE HOMECOMING QUEEN by Stephanie Hale

HEARTS AT STAKE by Alexandra Harvey

ALL UNQUIET THINGS by Anna Jarzab

ENDLESS SUMMER by Jennifer Echols

THE SWEETNESS OF SALT by Cecilia Galante

FURY by Elizabeth Miles

FASHIONISTA by Micol Ostow

GIMME A CALL by Sarah Mlynowski

NEVER ENOUGH Secrets Revealed...Everchanging Titles!

NEVER ENOUGH will be releasing on July 10th, 2012, which all of a sudden seems so soon! I'm starting a semi-regular new series on my blog called NEVER ENOUGH Secrets, in which--you guessed it--I'll be revealing secrets about this book. There are many, so stay tuned, and I'll only be leaving these secrets up for a short time before sending them into hidden, secret areas of my website!

Today I wanted to start by telling you a little bit about how the title of this book has changed and developed over the years. This is the second novel I've written (I've now written nine, all in various stages of revision) so in the scheme of my writing life, this is a fairly old book.

It's always been about two sisters. It's always revolved around the struggle for beauty and perfection. It's always been a bit of a heartbreaking book. That's why you may find my initial title a little surprising.

OH NO! I THINK I ATE MY SISTER.

I'm serious. There is a fair bit of levity in the book as well as some very serious moments. In the end, this title was much too light for the book (and felt slightly middle grade). This title stuck for about the first year of the evolution of this book.

The second title lasted much longer, and definitely had more of the right feel for the whole book:

APPETITE FOR BEAUTY

I temporarily used some variations of this: APPETITE, BEAUTY, HUNGER, etc., but overall this title lasted until I sold the book to Simon Pulse. And a little bit longer.

Partway through edits on this book, my editor told me that there had been discussion that APPETITE FOR BEAUTY sounded a bit too adult, and they'd be looking for something with more of a YA feel.

I brainstormed about a million ideas. I even made some changes to the book to suit some of these ideas. My favorite of all those I had chosen was TWO ANGRY BIRDS, and there were lots of references to how the sisters were like birds to go with it.

But that was a no go. Other suggestions were, PICTURES OF YOU, PICTURES OF US, PERFECTLY CLAIRE, MY SISTER EXPOSED, OVER-EXPOSURE, LIGHT AND SHADOW, PECKING ORDER, and many, many more.

In the end, it was my fab, wonderful, amazingly brilliant editor, Annette Pollert, who came up with the final, final title...

NEVER ENOUGH!

So there you have it. I've now had the experience that I've heard so much about from other authors. It was kind of a fun experience, in a stressful, terrifying sort of way.