Friday Four and #summerreading

1. Yesterday I skimmed through Media Bistro, as I do once a year or so when I have time. They mentioned a new hashtag on Twitter called #summerreading, started by @NYTimesLearning, and they were interested in getting people on board to promote it. On a whim, I tweeted this:


Get a few of your friends together to read NEVER ENOUGH this summer and I'll do a free Skype visit with you when you're done! #summerreading

My little tweet has gotten lots of notice, and so I thought I should share it here too, in case any of my blog readers are interested in taking part in this. If you are interested, here's a little tip: I think this is the cheapest you'll find a new copy of Never Enough.  Simon & Schuster has it listed with a special Pre-Order price of only $7.99!


But if that's still too much for your budget, ask your local library and I'm sure they will get it in for you.


2. Speaking of #summerreading, I wanted to let you know a few books that are on my list. Some have been sitting on my shelf for a LONG time, and some aren't quite released yet, but here's a sample of what I'm planning to enjoy in the sunshine this summer:


The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys


I'd love to hear what's on your Summer Reading list!


3. Okay, you know I can't get through a Friday Four post without mentioning the big countdown, right? NEVER ENOUGH is out in ONE MONTH AND TWO DAYS!!! #justsayin


If you haven't yet grabbed the widget to display somewhere prominent (pretty please! I'd love you forever!) Here it is for the taking...




4. Life has been busy, so I haven't been able to blog much. Last weekend I got roped into judging a dance competition, which was lots of fun, but still left me behind on revisions, interviews and so forth. Just starting to feel like I'm catching up again, and so soon I will be back with some more Never Enough Secrets, including why I wrote the book, who helped me, and lots lots more!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

GCC Presents SURRENDER by Elana Johnson!

Elana Johnson is one of those Awesome-sauce people that most of you probably already know of because of her impact on the writing community. Aside from running an awesome online writer's conference and producing plenty of tools for the aspiring author, she is a rockin' author, and SURRENDER (follow-up to POSSESSION) is being dubbed as the dystopian series of the summer!

About SURRENDER: Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn.

Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque….

Purchase your copy here.

GIVEAWAY: Elana is hosting a Spectacular Seconds giveaway this week! You can enter to win one of five signed sophomore books by Beth Revis, Ally Condie, Veronica Roth, Kristi Cook, and Kim Harrington. CLICK HERE for all the details and to enter.

Aaaand, because Elana is so awesome, she stopped by for a short interview...

Welcome, Elana! Quick, tell me about your book in seven words or less.

Rebellion + romance + tech gadgets = SURRENDER

 Other than your main character, who's a favorite character in your novel and why?

I love Zenn Bower. He’s the founder of the Insiders, which is the rebellion movement the MC joins. Zenn is mysterious and cool, and you never really know whose side he’s on. I love writing him, and I love trying to get the MCs to figure him out.

 What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?

Write more. Write another book. And another one. It’s through practice that we get better.

 What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?

I was in the marching band in high school. I didn’t read, really, and especially not the assigned books. I didn’t journal, write poetry, or write anything. I didn’t like English at all. I took the AP test as a junior so I could opt out of English as a senior.

 What's the last book you read that you really loved?

BEING FRIENDS WITH BOYS by Terra Elan McVoy. One of the best YA contemporaries ever!

 

About Elana: Elana's work including POSSESSION, REGRET, and SURRENDER is available from Simon & Schuster wherever books are sold. She is the author of From the Query to the Call, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query, which can be downloaded for free on her website. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog. She blogs regularly at The League of Extraordinary Writers, co-organizes WriteOnCon, and can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

She wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

GCC Presents Melissa Walker and UNBREAK MY HEART!

I'm so excited about all of the books I get to highlight this week, because I love them all SO MUCH!!! I was fortunate enough to have gotten my hands on an early copy of UNBREAK MY HEART by Melissa Walker, and I'm so thrilled to be able to spotlight this as part of the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit. It had me taken away from the first page to the last. And wait until you hear about the unusual setting: a sailboat!

Here's a little bit more about the book...

Summer will be the season for Melissa Walker fans to fall in love all over again. UNBREAK MY HEART is told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clementine Williams’s heart and the summer that healed it. Inspired by Melissa’s own experience sailing with her family as a teen, this is the perfect beach read for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti.

Usually Clem would dread the idea of spending an entire summer sailing with her family—two parents, one annoying little sister, and no internet, all on one tiny boat; however, right now escaping her life on land sounds pretty good. Clem did something bad during her sophomore year, even though she didn’t mean to. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and thought that he was falling for her too. Now the school year is over, the truth is out and he’s been excused while she’s been exiled, leaving her with no friends and zero social life.

When she and her family set sail the last thing Clem is looking for is another romance, but perhaps it found her anyway. His name is James. He’s cute, funny, and best of all, doesn’t know anything about her past. He and his dad are sailing the same route as Clem and her family for the summer and he's just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem's walls and unbreak her broken heart?

About the author

MELISSA WALKER is the author of Small Town Sinners, the Violet on the Runway series and Lovestruck Summer. She has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. Melissa manages I Heart Daily, an e-newsletter and blogs for ReaderGirlz, an online community for teens. A Chapel Hill, NC native, Melissa now lives in Brooklyn, NY.  www.melissacwalker.com

Melissa stopped by for a short interview...

Welcome! Tell me about your book in seven words or less.

M.W. - A year of heartbreak; a summer love. 

Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your novel and why?

M.W. - I love Clem's little sister, Olive. She entered the scene and totally took over when I wrote. I love it when that happens.
 What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?

M.W. - Read as much as you can and look for things that work and things that don't work within the books you're inhaling (I say inhaling because you should read a lot, and often). Each book has a bit of advice in it, if you look.  

What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?

M.W. - I kept a journal which is HUMILIATING to re-read. I also worked on my yearbook and school paper, so I did a lot of non-fiction, which I think was a great base when I switched to fiction in my 20s. 

What's the last book you read that you really loved?

M.W. - I just read a middle grade by Natalie Standiford called The Secret Tree that was totally charming and lovely!

Praise for UNBREAK MY HEART:

“A super cute love story! Melissa Walker will inspire readers to never stop believing in true love.”

—SUSANE COLASANTI, author of When It Happens and Keep Holding On

“A raw, real, and ultimately heartwarming discovery of what it means to be a true friend. Walker gets it exactly right.”

—JENNIFER ECHOLS, author of Love Story and The One That I Want

Praise for Small Town Sinners:

“…An unforgettable novel.” – Shelf Awareness

“Walker has written a credible and tender evocation of the moment when a young person's beliefs begin to emerge and potentially diverge from the teachings of a family's religion.” - New York Times

“Both tender and provocative.” – Publishers Weekly


Melissa is also promoting a big giveaway to coincide with Unbreak My Heart's release:
 Make a breakup playlist on Spotify for a chance to win an iPod loaded with the soundtrack to Unbreak My Heart (and the book!):
https://www.facebook.com/notes/bloomsbury-teens/announcing-the-unbreak-your-heart-playlist-contest-on-spotify/391423114232968

Tuesday Stuff!

Around my house we call it "Toyless Tuesday." It's our one day a week that my son is supposed to focus on reading rather than playing with his toys. Which means what I really call it is "I'm not going to get any work done Tuesday." We'll see how long this lasts...

I wanted to let you know about a couple of quick things. First of all, I'm over at The Contemps site today and tomorrow, spotlighting some really wonderful books - Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle. I hope you'll drop by and find out more about these two books!

Also...in case you didn't see me jumping up and down anywhere else online...I got my first trade review for Never Enough! I'm *thrilled* to tell you that Publishers Weekly loved it! I'm not sure if I can share the whole thing but here's a little of it and you can click the link above for the rest. In case you'd couldn't tell, I'm VERY excited!!

 "In her sophomore novel, Jaden (Losing Faith) offers an intimate and enlightened rendering of anorexia and bulimia...Loann's fight against forces that might be beyond her control is both harrowing and inspiring. While Jaden does not provide simple answers for the problems presented, she dramatically illustrates the importance of speaking out and reaching out."
-Publishers Weekly

Widget, Widget, Widget!

My awesome friends at Literary Logistics have designed a countdown widget for Never Enough! I hope you'll help me spread the word by adding it to your blog or website or... wherever!

Just click on "Get Widget" either below or over on the one on the sidebar. Thanks SO MUCH!!!

Friday Four

1. NEVER ENOUGH is out in like just over six weeks!!!! How did this sneak up on me so fast?!

2. I spoke with my Canadian publicist and marketing person from Simon & Schuster Canada this week. It was a great conversation, and they're planning all sorts of wonderful things to coincide with the release of NEVER ENOUGH, including a blog tour and a Twitter chat! I also have some beautiful new bookmarks. If anyone wants one (or a few to pass around) just email me at d (at) denisejaden (dot) com

3. I had an epiphany this week for my latest work in progress (currently titled FOREIGN EXCHANGE). I went back to the drawing board and was able to rewrite the first section to make it much stronger. I'm so excited about this book! I can't wait to be able to share it.

4. The sun is shining here and just in time for the weekend! I'll be stuck inside at a judo tournament tomorrow, but today I plan to get outside into my garden. I'm not much of a gardener, to be honest, but I find the process of gardening to be very peaceful. Plus, like I said, there's the sun...

Happy weekend, everybody!!

From My Mailbox

During the last week, I've woken up to some wonderful things in my inbox (a bonus of living on the West Coast - or a drawback when it's bad news). There are a few things that I can't share quite yet, but this morning I received a note and some fan art for Losing Faith that I'd love to share today. This totally made my whole week...

Dear Ms. Jaden,

            Hi my name is Kaylie I am one of the many students of (blocking out the school name). We are constantly reading assigned book that are lame and lurpy, so when we got a chance to pick a book I immediately picked a book I knew I would enjoy.  I have recently read you book Losing Faith, and I absolutely loved it! Your book was interesting, funny and exciting and I would, and am reading it again.  Others my age and I have connected in this book in different levels.  This book will forever remain in my mind as one of the best books I have ever read. Thank you for writing it and also taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Kaylie :) 

And here is the WONDERFUL picture that came with it:

Thanks so much, Kaylie!