Eileen Cook has written so many books! Read about them here. Her latest, Unraveling Isobel (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2012), hits shelves this week.
About the Book:
Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother. But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.
“Thrilling and creepy, super sexy, and so very hilarious.” –Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake trilogy
“Ideal for readers who like their stories supernatural but their dream guys human.” -The Bulletin
“Spine-tingling setting….Isobel’s sass and her steamy romance with her new stepbrother will help readers race toward the dramatic conclusion.” –Publishers Weekly
“This blend of paranormal romance, murder mystery and quirky, coming-of-age narrative offers tasty moments….Cook gives readers a fast-paced plot, a likable narrator, and interesting characters.” -Kirkus
Kristina Springer is the author of The Espressologist, a Society of School Librarians International Book Award Honor Book, and My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, which Meg Cabot calls, “Irresistible as a fluffy kitten.” Best blurb ever? I think so! Just Your Average Princess (FSG/Macmillan), Kristina’s newest, is out this week.
About the book:
Jamie Edwards has loved everything about growing up on a pumpkin patch, but ever since her cousin Milan Woods arrived, things have really stunk. Jamie can’t imagine it was easy for Milan to leave her life back in Los Angeles and move to Average, Illinois, population one thousand. But it’s kind of hard to feel sorry for her since (a) Milan’s drop-dead gorgeous; (b) she’s the daughter of two of Hollywood’s hottest film stars; (c) she’s captured the attention of everyone in town, including Danny, Jamie’s crush since forever; and (d) she’s about to steal the title of Pumpkin Princess right out from underneath Jamie!
For more info on Kristina & her books, go here, here or here!
Jeri Smith-Ready has written nine books. Nine! Including the Shade trilogy which concludes May 2012 with Shine (Simon Pulse/S&S). Out this week, her short story “Bridge,” which can be found in the Melissa Marr/Kelley Armstrong edited anthology Enthralled: Paranormal Diversion(HarperCollins).
About the book:
A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.
Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.
Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.
For more information about Jeri & her many books, go here! & for your very own copy of Enthralled…
Jennifer Echols is great! Her books are great! She’s the award-winning author of Going Too Far and Forget You. And now! Out this week: Love Story (Gallery Books, 2011). Teen romance! Set against the bustle of glamorous NYC.
About the book:
For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions - it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter… so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?
Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter… except this story could come true.
I asked Jenn (as i do with all the GCC ladies!) if she had any music she’d like to include in her post. A playlist, a video — anything that might have inspired her book. Her response:
“The Only Exception by Paramore. This was the most important song on my playlist while I was writing Love Story. I have finally watched the video for the first time, and I am frankly a little creeped out at the similarities between the video and the book. Then again, I am easily creeped out.”
Melissa Walker has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. She wrote the Violet on the Runway series and the book, Lovestruck Summer. Small Town Sinners (Bloomsbury, 2011), Melissa’s latest, is out this week!
About the book:
Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver’s license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church’s annual haunted house of sin, Lacey’s junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn’t know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.
Here are a bunch of images Melissa included in an email to me earlier this week. Images that, she said, inspired the cover design for Small Town Sinners. Confusing, since, these are MY favorite images! Shouldn’t the ENTIRE WORLD be backlit by 70s sunlight?! I think so! And clearly, so does Melissa!
For more backstory on how the Small Town Sinners cover came to be, go here. And for more information on Melissa and her many books, visit her website.
Suzanne Young lives in Portland, Oregon! She’s written lots of books. After earning her degree in creative writing, Suzanne taught middle school language arts. Now she writes novels. A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, 2011) is Suzanne’s latest.
About the book:
We all want to be remembered. Charlotte’s destiny is to be Forgotten… Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth who feels the Need-a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger. But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend’s arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become-her mark on this earth, her very existence-is in jeopardy of disappearing completely. Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny-no matter how dark the consequences?
And the trailer!
For more info on Suzanne & her books, go here or here!
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.
But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them….starting by brainwashed Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous: everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn.
This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.
And! GCC gals always have the option of including a video or virtual mixtape to go along with their posts! Elana typed up playlists for each of her main characters:
Vi:
Perfect by P!nk
Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
Crush by David Archuleta
Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye
Complicated by Avril Levigne
Jag:
She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional
Your Love Is Like a Drug by Ke$ha
Mad World by Adam Lambert
I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
Zenn:
Waiting For The End by Linkin Park
If You’re Not the One by Daniel Beddingfield
Breakeven by The Script
The Reason by Hoobastank
Here Without You by 3 Doors Down
To find out more about Possession & Elana, go here, here, & here.
Amanda Ashby has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland, and is married with two children. Her debut book, You Had Me at Halo(NAL Trade, 2007), was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and her first young adult book, Zombie Queen of Newbury High(Puffin/Speak, 2009), was included in the New York Public Library’s annual teen book list, Stuff for the Teen Age (2010). Fairy Bad Day(Puffin/Speak, 2011), Amanda’s newest book, is out this week.
About the book:
It’s going to be a fairy bad day.
First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.
On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking-how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!
But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.
Reviews:
“Teens with a taste for the paranormal school story and a tolerance for raucous humor will be involved with and amused by this romantic fantasy. The exciting plot, humor throughout-often provided by the little fairies-and relatively innocent romance between characters will grab readers and keep them involved. ” –Kirkus
“In a fun mashup of the modern and the magical, Ashby (Zombie Queen of Newbury High) creates nicely developed characters and supports them with strong plotting and zippy writing. Laced with humor, danger, and romance, this book will have readers smiling all the way to the last page.” –Publisher’s Weekly
For more about Amanda & her books, go here, here, & here!
Jessica Brody is crazy prolific. She’s written nine billion books and they’re all being made into movies. She’s also super nice. We’ve eaten vegetable stew together.
Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.
Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.
But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I’m gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!
Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you-like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.
But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
And the book trailer!
For more about Jessica & her books, go here &/or here!
Crickets, hills, Hole, wine, cigarettes, bialettis, John Lee Hooker, limp hair, sundresses, wisteria, sleazy dudes, dying dudes, skinned shins, virgins, green shutters, pizza pies, bicycles, white weeds, spaghetti straps:
Eileen Cook has written so many books! Read about them here. Her latest, Unraveling Isobel (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2012), hits shelves this week.
Kristina Springer is the author of 
Another GCC release! It’s been so long!
