Monday Stuff!

I haven't had much time to blog lately, and I really miss it. The good news for you is that because I haven't had time to choose winners for copies of my NEVER ENOUGH STORIES anthology, there's still time for you to enter!

I should be back to choose some winner later this week, but in the meantime, I had a couple of things to tell you about:

I got a couple of trade reviews for Never Enough this week. One was from School Library Journal, and to be honest, that one was the one I hoped the most would be a stellar review, because I'd love to see Never Enough in plenty of school libraries. Sadly, it wasn't. I had to remind myself that it was only one person's opinion, and that there are lots of people who are really loving the book.

So The Bulletin review couldn't have come at a better time! They ended up loving it, and one of my favorite quotes is this:

"With well-developed complications and the convincing realism of daily life...this novel ably leads readers through a rocky terrain of contemporary teen problems."

Yeah, I was pretty stoked about that.

Aside from this, I've been very busily getting my writing/grief book ready to release at the end of the month. I've overcome lots of hurdles in the last week as well as learned plenty of new things about formatting and design. 

Here's a snapshot of my new wrap-around cover:

I'm really excited to have the whole thing done and out there, and I've been hearing from others who are excited about it too, which is nice. I plan to be back later this week and tell you a bit more about the process of writing and publishing this book, because it's really been quite a journey!

See you soon with some NEVER ENOUGH STORIES winners...

And The Winner of @Mindi_Scott's LIVE THROUGH THIS ARC is...

As I mentioned, the contest for my ARC of LIVE THROUGH THIS was a subjective contest. I didn't draw names or numbers, I just looked through your responses. And while it was hard to decide, I finally decided that someone singing and dancing about the book to all of their friends (in addition to reviewing/tweeting/suggesting/ordering/etc.) could be quite fun.

So my winner of the LIVE THROUGH THIS well-traveled ARC goes to...

Jen McConnel!

Congratulations, Jen! Email me your mailing address and I'll get it out to you ASAP (d(at)denisejaden(dot)com)

Thanks everyone for entering! If you didn't win and you're interested in a swag pack, including a bookmark of LIVE THROUGH THIS, send me your mailing address and I'll get one in the mail to you.

Also, there's still time to win a rare signed print copy of NEVER ENOUGH STORIES... Just sayin.

Inspiration, High School, and Saying Goodbye

With school starting up for many this week, I thought I'd share a short post about my old high school. Don't forget that I'll be drawing winners this week for the advance copy of Mindi Scott's LIVE THROUGH THIS, as well as for a rare print copy of my story anthology NEVER ENOUGH STORIES. Follow the links to enter!


One question I don't think I've ever been asked in an interview is this: Since you write about high school life, do you base any of your settings on your own high school experience.

The answer is yes. Since publishing, I've had the opportunity to visit a number of high schools, and it has certainly given me a wider view of what's out there, at least in the region I live in, and there's a possibility that some of those high schools will flavor my thinking in my future writing. But in the books that are already out on the shelves--yes, in most of the high school scenes, I visualized my own high school. (One of my recent, yet-to-be-published novels is very specifically set in my junior high school--before they changed the grades and started calling them middle schools.)

I recently had a chance to visit my old high school to pass along a copy of my books to my favorite teacher, who was this year retiring. A friend of mine took some pictures, and I just wanted to share a few with you, so you know what I'm picturing when I write some of my characters' school scenes.

This is the view from the main entrance. There's a panther's head painted on the building because that was our team name.

The lockers were not this ugly pink when I attended. I think--in my long-term memory--they were bright yellow (much better, right?)
.

The cafeteria,
exactly as I remember it.

This was my favorite location. The windows overlook the front parking lot, and there were almost always students hanging out on these sills (I'm not sure how my friend snapped a picture without any!)









Sadly, I drove past my high school, and this is how it looks today...

I understand that things get old and need rebuilding, especially after so many years. But it's still sad to say goodbye to my old high school. I guess the one bright side is that it will always live on, both in my memory and in my fiction.

TWO New Denise Jaden Books and a Very Special Giveaway!

Read to the bottom of this post to find out about the new Very Special Giveaway...

Just a quick reminder that there's still time to enter to win my ARC of LIVE THROUGH THIS by Mindi Scott. Also, Mindi is sending me a few BRAND NEW LIVE THROUGH THIS BOOKMARKS, so even if you don't win the book, I'd love to send you one of those! Maybe they'll even be signed...

I have more exciting news! NEVER ENOUGH STORIES is officially out in the wild! You can find it on Smashwords, and it's also on Kobo. It will be trickling into all your other favorite online e-bookstores this week, including Barnes & Noble and Sony. Unfortunately Amazon won't let me put it up there because it's free. Oh yes, did I mention that it's FREE?! Even if you haven't read Never Enough yet, I encourage you to pick up a copy of this. There are no spoilers...it'll just introduce you to some of the secondary characters, and let you meet my main character, Loann, through a variety of point of views. Here's a little more about it from GoodReads:

Never Enough Stories: An anthology of companion stories and deleted scenes from the young adult novel, Never Enough by Denise Jaden.

Everybody loves Marcus, Loann's slow-growing best friend in Never Enough. Reviewers are calling him "a stupendous book boy." Marcus and Loann's unique friendship is not insta-love, and this anthology opens with a little more of how their friendship began...from Marcus's point of view.
Other stories follow the complicated sisterly relationship of Loann and Claire, and give a deeper view into Claire's thoughts. Did things have to end the way they did for these two?

Publishers Weekly calls Never Enough "an intimate and enlightened rendering of anorexia and bulimia." Critically acclaimed young adult author CK Kelly Martin calls it "A poignant, important book...filled with hurt, heart, and personal strength.”

Delve deeper into the lives of your favorite characters from Never Enough.

And...more exciting news! My friend Angela Ackerman at The Bookshelf Muse just yesterday announced my first non-fiction work, a book on writing grief in fiction. She gave the official cover reveal yesterday. I'll give you a sneak peak here, but I did a special guest post telling a little more about the book and my process of writing it over at The Bookshelf Muse. I hope you'll stop by and read it! (And have you picked up a copy of The Emotion Thesaurus yet? A totally INVALUABLE resource for writers!)

Here is my new cover, and a little from GoodReads of what the writing/grief book is about:

"Jaden's Writing With A Heavy Heart is a must-have for any writer's craft shelf. The combination of clear guidance and practical exercises allow writers to take their manuscripts to a deeper level."
- Eileen Cook Author of Unraveling Isobel and The Almost Truth

In her first non-fiction mini-book, Denise Jaden explores the stages and outlets of grief and how to implement them into your fiction to create more interesting characters and a more engaging plot. Some topics of this book include: grieving before the loss, spiritual matters, and how grief affects different ages, personality types and gender.
Available October 1, 2012.

 As you can see, this one is not available until October 1st, but if you're a follower of this blog, I'll let you know if you can get your hands on a copy a little early. It could be possible...

And now for the Very Special Giveaway I told you about!

It was my original plan to charge a very small amount for NEVER ENOUGH STORIES, just enough so that I could get Amazon to carry it and to put out a print version. Unfortunately, due to a publication conflict, I was not able to do that. However, for my own personal satisfaction, I did print a very small number of copies of NEVER ENOUGH STORIES at my own expense, and it's a beautiful little book to hold in your hands, if I do say so myself!

To celebrate my release of this companion book, I'm going to give away three rare print copies! You can't buy this companion print anthology anywhere, so the only way to get a copy is to win one here. 

All you have to do to enter to win is spread the word about NEVER ENOUGH or it's companion anthology, NEVER ENOUGH STORIES, then come back here and tell me in the comments how you have spread the word! 

This is open internationally! It's open to anyone, whether you've read NEVER ENOUGH, or whether you're still waiting to get your hands on a copy. (But I admit, I hope at least one copy goes to an ardent NEVER ENOUGH fan.)

Good luck to all, and don't forget to go and download your free e-copy!

#Giveaway of an Advance Copy of LIVE THROUGH THIS by @Mindi_Scott

I don't enter a lot of book contests, mostly because I want to support authors in some way--either by purchasing their book or suggesting their book to my library. But I admit, when I see a contest for a book that's not available yet, a book I REALLY want to read, I turn into a bit of a determined freak about winning it.

This recently happened when Mindi Scott was holding a contest for her one extra advance copy of LIVE THROUGH THIS. I blogged, I tweeted, I told my friends and my cat about it. But--sigh--I did not win. However...my good friend and avid-fast-reader Angelina Hansen did. I attempted to act composed when she said to me last week, "Oh, did you want to read this?" Not only that, but she didn't need her copy back! That's what has brought me here today.

If you haven't seen this gorgeous cover yet...

And if you haven't read up on what it's about...

Sometimes hiding the truth requires more than a lie . . .

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her from the annoying drama. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a stepdad and mom who would stop at nothing to keep her and her siblings happy and safe.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and as Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect in this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel.

 In my own words, this is a fantastic book--it's an issue book that's not all about the issue, and it's edgy, but it's edgy with good reason, to deeply show the complications. It brings you into the heart and confusion of Coley's life. It made my heart ache for these very real characters about very real situations that are rarely talked about. One other thing I especially loved was Mindi's treatment and exploration of a large but complicated family. I loved this book, and so I just can't keep it to myself. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

The Contest: Mindi Scott is not only a brilliant author, she's also a friend of mine. I want to spread the word as much as possible about LIVE THROUGH THIS. In the comments, please tell me how you are, or how you will, spread the word about this great book (review on your blog? reviews on Amazon/Barnes & Noble, Suggest to your library, tweet tweet tweet, tell all your friends to pre-order it, etc!)

This is a subjective contest - I won't add up numbers, or pick a winner from a hat, or worry about how many blog followers you have. It is purely based on how much I believe you want to spread the word about this book. So tell me all about it in the comments, and good luck!!

Note--I hate saying this, but I have to make this open to US only for the book, as overseas shipping is just too expensive. If you're international, though, please still spread the word and I'd be happy to send you a swag pack if you win.

Happy Monday!

I mentioned this on Twitter last night, and I've actually known about this for a couple of months, but wasn't allowed to share until it actually happened. My husband went into our nearest Barnes & Noble last night and snapped a picture of this:

I was told before Never Enough came out that Barnes & Noble was supporting it and had ordered a chunk of books for an endcap in their stores labeled "Tough Stuff." At the time, I had no idea what an endcap was! But I'm thrilled beyond words. This is one of those hit and miss, lottery type of things that authors can wish for but can't make happen.

Now go forth and buy a copy off of your local B&N endcap in hopes that they'll keep it there!

One other exciting thing...I've made my first plunge into self-publishing! I've mentioned this before, but I have my first non-fiction writing book coming out on October 1st, and I'll have more info on that coming soon, but as a "Get My Feet Wet" experience, I've just published a short anthology of short stories and deleted scenes to go along with Never Enough!

This is intended both for people who have read and loved Never Enough, and for those who don't know if they'll like it and want to check out a few of the characters first.

This anthology doesn't officially release until September 1st, but because I'm new at this and still playing around with upload times and how to make it available as many places as possible, I'm letting you, my faithful blog readers, know that you can get it right now. And the best part?

It's completely and totally FREE!

Here's the link to it on Smashwords, where you can download an e-copy for any of your devices or computers. Also, to celebrate it's release, on September 1st I will be having a special contest for a very limited edition signed print copy of this anthology (It is not available for free or purchase - I only have a few specially made copies.)

So I hope you'll grab yourself and e-copy and let me know what you think! Then come back here on September 1st to celebrate with me!

Lee Strauss Has a New Cover!

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. Her brother Liam is missing. Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically. Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

 PERCEPTION is a ( SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love. This is the first book in a planned three book series.

 You can "like" Lee Strauss on facebook and mark Perception to read on goodreads.

Lee Strauss is also known as Elle Strauss (for her lighter, lower YA titles) You can find her at www.ellestraussbooks.com

PERCEPTION will be for sale on Amazon and at other e-retailer stores SEPTEMBER 12!