Guest Post: LM Preston

Today I have a guest post from LM Preston, author of Explorer X - Alpha, on the topic of teen love. You can find out more about LM Prestona and Explorer X - Alpha on her website www.lmpreston.com.

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CAN A TEENAGER FALL IN LOVE?

I was hunting around on my favorite writer’s hang out on AW (Absolute Write Forums) and the topic of teen love came up. The question alluded to, ‘Does a teenager really fall in love?’ My honest opinion, why couldn’t they? In my book EXPLORER X – Alpha I tease on some of the facets of pre-teen love as I remembered it.

QUALITIES OF TEEN LOVE

I remember being in love as a teenager only about three times. Yep, three times. Each love was so fascinating, intense, exciting, all consuming, obsessive and hurt so badly when it ended. I would write the boys name in my notebook over and over again. I would think about them every free moment of the day. When I kissed that boy, it felt as though he was the sun and the moon of my very life at that time.

If I could bottle that up and sell it, it would be called LOVE POTION #9.

QUALITIES OF ADULT LOVE

For me, love as an adult, was a lot slower to burn than teenaged love. As an adult, I only allowed myself to fall in love with one person. The difference between my teen love and my adult love was drastic. As an adult, I was cautious, skeptical, held back a lot of myself until the guy proved that he was trustworthy, worth my time, interesting enough to hold my interest, and sexy enough to keep me attracted.
Did it have the intensity of teen love? No, not because I didn’t feel the things I felt for my love as a teenager. I didn't have the hormone high that I did as a teenager, or the time to obsess on the boy I was in love with. Also, as an adult I was just too jaded, mistrustful, and too smart to let anyone consume me that didn’t show that they were truly interested. Not to mention, the end of those teenaged love affairs were just too darned painful.

MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

Yes, teenagers can fall in love. All love starts out as an infatuation. It starts with attraction, hunger, excitement, the chase, and hopefully ends in true love. True love, which consists of trust, passion, comfort, attraction, bonding, and most of all friendship, is worth the ride whether it ends badly or last forever.

In my case, a teen love became my adult love. As teenagers we broke up, but stayed friends. As adults we found that were a good match, and laughed at our antics in our relationship as teenagers. What ever happened to the boy I fell madly in love with at fifteen, broke up with, and stayed friends with? He is now my husband of seventeen years. Yes, at times I do allow myself to feel all those things for him I did as a teenager, but my adult ways still makes me cautious to let it totally consume me.

REFLECTIONS ABOUT LOVE

My motto is and will always be, live your life and enjoy the adventure of it all. That means whenever love is lost or you stumble along the way. Get up, dust off, plaster a smile on your face and focus on the exhilaration of the experience of love, of life, of failures, of pain, of recovery, and the adventure and experience of being able to live, learn, and to have loved.

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Thanks LM!

You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover...Or Can You?

Cover Judge is a semi-weekly feature that highlights the beautiful covers of the books on my wish list. This week I have a breathtakingly beautiful cover from New York Times bestselling author, Alyson Noel.

Radiance by Alyson Noel

Release: August 31, 2010

Synopsis: Welcome to the Here and Now

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she’s summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can’t quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he’s never met Riley. . . .

Cover: I have really enjoyed Alyson Noel's Evermore series and was quite excited to hear that she was going to do a spin off series about Riley, Ever's little sister. Therefore, I was quite excited to see that the book now has a cover, synopsis and release date.

To describe this cover in one word, I'd have to say beautiful. This is probably one of the prettiest middle grade covers I've seen. It looks more like the cover of a Jodi Picoult novel to me than an MG or YA book. The misty white background is both eerie and lovely at the same time and provides a gorgeous contrast to the field of blue flowers blooming along the bottom of the cover. The bridge, just barely visible, completes the cover wonderfully. Another wonderful cover for Alyson.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi from The Story Siren. For more information and/or to participate check out her blog.

As you may have noticed, I forgot to do an IMM post last week. Because of this, I decided to do a combined post for the past two weeks.

For Review:

The Secret Year by Jennifer R Hubbard

Freaksville by Kitty Keswick

Island Sting by Bonnie Doerr

My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Bought:

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Need by Carrie Jones

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

The Mark by Jen Nandol

That's what was in my mailbox. What's in yours?

Chick Chat: Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Today I have an interview with Cheryl Renee Herbsman, author of Breathing. Before we get to the interview, here's a bit about Breathing:

Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town working at the library and lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she’s convinced he’s the one—her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama’s strict rules, and stays by her side during a hospitalization for severe asthma, which Savannah becomes convinced is only improving because Jackson is there. But when he’s called away to help his family—and seems uncertain about returning—Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively.

You can find more information on both Cheryl and Breathing on her website and/or blog.

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Did you always want to be an author? If so why? If not what did you want to be?

When I was in school, I planned to become a psychologist for children. I majored in psychology as an undergraduate and got my master's degree in clinical psychology.

Is being an author what you expected?

I didn't realize how much time I'd be spending on marketing and publicity,but I feel grateful for being a published author every day!

What inspired you to write Breathing?

Breathing is inspired by my own teen romance with an older boy with whom I had a long-distance relationship. We've been married twenty years now, which explains why Savannah is such a hopeFUL romantic.

What was your road to publication like?

Before writing Breathing, I wrote a young adult fairytale/fantasy. I faced a lot of rejection on that manuscript, which was devastating at times. But I learned a lot about both the craft and business end of writing and publishing. So when Breathing was ready to send out, it sold very quickly.

With Breathing being set in the south, what kind of research did you do prior to writing?

I grew up in North Carolina, but in an area less rural than where Savannah lives. In the summers, my family would always go to the Carolina beaches, so I knew the setting well. But just to be sure :) I took my family from California to the Carolina beaches for a little "research" trip.

I also studied everything I could find about Southern expressions, which was a lot of fun.

Which character from Breathing do you feel you relate to the most?

I'm the most like Savannah -- stubborn, a hopeful romantic, a dreamer.

Would you rather see your book turned into a TV show or a movie?

I'd love to see it made into a movie.

If you could cast anyone to play your characters who would your dream cast be?

My dream would be for Dakota Fanning to play Savannah. Lucas Till might make a really good Jackson.

Besides writing, what else are you passionate about?

My family, the beach, music, warm, sunny weather :) and chocolate.

If you could meet any fictional character who would it be?

Too many to choose from! I couldn't possibly limit it to one choice.

What's next for you?

I'm working on a new young adult novel. But it's too early to say too much about it :)

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Thank you so much for the interview Cheryl!

Book Trailers

This weekend I found two wonderful book trailers that I just had to share. I'm very eager to read both of the novels and was very excited to see the trailers. The first is for Julie Kagawa's The Iron King:

The second is for Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder (visit her blog for a celebratory contest) and was made be Vania of VLC Productions:



Enjoy!

A Book and a Chat with Me!

I just wanted to remind everyone that I will be on A Book and a Chat tonight at 6:30 pm EST. I've listened to a few of Barry's shows and am excited to be able to be a guest.

If you have some time tonight please listen in. You can listen, call in questions and chat with others during the show.

I hope to see you there!

10 in '10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge Chat

Calling all 10 in '10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge participants!

Kay and I are excited to announce that we will be hosting the first chat of the challenge tonight. If you have a chance make sure to stop by and introduce yourself and discuss teen chick lit.

The chat will be tonight, January 19, at 8:00pm EST in our Chatzy.

I'll be updating this post later this evening with the direct link to the Chazty room. You can also follow @ChickLitTeens and/or @KayCassidy on Twitter, as we'll be posting the link there as well.

Hope to see you there!

LINK: http://www.chatzy.com/133119347426

The Secret Year by Jennifer R Hubbard

Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend.When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal she left behind. But he is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.

Hubbard puts the reader in quite an interesting situation in The Secret Year. By the start of the novel one of the major characters, the heart of the story, is already dead. All that remains of her is a diary and the loved ones she’s left behind. The novel chronicles the life of one of those loved ones, Colt, her secret boyfriend of one year. Although I liked Colt a lot, I found it difficult at first to relate to him and be sympathetic to what he was going through. I didn’t know Julia, I didn’t have a chance to learn about her and I really had no real knowledge or opinion of their relationship. It is because of this that for the first few chapters of the novel I was unable to sympathize at all with Colt or become emotionally involved with the story.

However, once I learned more about Julia from the snippets of her diary and Colt’s own memories, she began to grow on me. I was able to flesh out her character and become more attached to the idea of Colt and her and get a sense of their relationship. It made the novel all the more intriguing and powerful. It also made me want to go back and reread the beginning of the novel, because I felt as if I’d missed out on a lot of Colt’s trials.

The other unique thing about this story is the way in which it is told. It is not fast paced or filled with rising actions. It is a slower, more drawn out type of story. In a sense, it is like reading Colt’s journal, in addition to Julia’s. The way in which the story is told is perfect for this novel. It really gives a chance for Hubbard to get the emotions of the story across to the reader. It is heavy in Colt’s inner thoughts and his raw, unexplained feelings and emotions.

While this is a plus, it is also a bit of liability. Because of the way in which the story is told, it’s very hard to come in and out of. This isn’t the type of book that you can sneak a page or two of throughout the day and then put right back down again. Much like a person’s diary, you won’t get much out of it if you just read a few random entries sporadically. You really need to sit down and delve in, recognize their voice and invest yourself into their story. Once I was able to do that, I was truly able to enjoy The Secret Year.

That said here’s my suggestion: find a free weekend, pick up The Secret Year and read. Don’t stop, just plow right through. Once you get into the story you will want to know what happens next and you won’t want to put it down.

3.5 stars!

The Lonely Hearts Club Twitter Party

I hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend. I just wanted to take a quick moment to share some information on a very cool event going on this Wednesday, January 20th, on one of my favorite sites, Twitter. If you liked The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg or want to read it, I'd make sure to stop by. It sounds like tons of fun.

Here are all of the details:

Join Lonely Hearts Club author Elizabeth Eulberg and Amy of MyFriendAmy for a Twitter party Wednesday, January 20, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. EST!

• Be sure to follow Elizabeth @ElizEulberg and Amy @MyFriendAmy before the party!

• Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party!

• Anyone who tweets during this hour using #LonelyHeartsClub is entered to win a limited edition Lonely Hearts Club t-shirt!

• Watch for questions from @MyFriendAmy and win awesome prizes including an iPod shuffle, $50 iTunes gift card or $25 VISA gift card!

• To join the party, you can use our official party tweetgrid or just search #LonelyHeartsClub on Twitter.

• Ask Elizabeth questions or chat with other partygoers about how excited you are to read LHC—just use the tag #LonelyHeartsClub in all of your party tweets! (This is added automatically in TweetGrid.)

• Please don’t post any spoilers and don’t forget to pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:30pm EST.

See you there!

An interview with moi!

I forgot to mention this earlier, but Briana at The Book Pixie hosted a two part interview with me this week. Part one went up on Monday and part two went up Thursday. If you get a chance, go check out the interviews here and here and leave a comment. Thanks Briana!

Also, I will be on A Book and a Chat this Tuesday, 1/19, at 6:30 EST. I'll post a reminder that day with the link again for those of you who are interested in listening.

Have a wonderful three day weekend everyone!

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Love is all you need…or is it?

Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She’s had one too many bad dates, and has been hurt by one too many bad boys. It’s a personal choice…and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny’s not the only girl who’s tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worse) in order to get their guys…or the way their guys don’t really care about them.

Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club (named after Sgt. Pepper’s band), and Penny finds herself near legendary for her non-dating ways – which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can’t help but like…

While the premise of this book alone will appeal to most teens, The Lonely Hearts Club has many other facets that make it all the more enjoyable.

Penny is extremely well versed in the Beatles, with their influence always weaving in and out of her story. Even though my experience with the Beatles is fairly limited, I was still entertained by their part in the novel. The band’s influence on Penny added a great deal of color to the story that helped to make it all the better.

Moreover, Penny’s character was extremely relatable. The entire time I was reading The Lonely Hearts Club I felt as if I was hanging out with one of my friends. Her struggles and feelings are something that any teenage girl can relate to. The true reason why I was so fond of Penny, however, was her realistic voice. It made her seem all the more real and heightened her ability to relate to readers. This quality does not just end with Penny though. The members of the club were also very easy to relate to. Eulberg has truly created a group of girls that any girl would be happy to have as friends; they’re the type of girls you could always trust to have your back. Each time one of them had their own personal success it was like seeing one of my own good friends succeed. Seeing members of the club grow was definitely the highlight of this novel.

Penny’s story is one of love, loss and self-discovery. I’d highly recommend it to any teen that’s ever fallen out of love. With the powerful bond of the club and its wonderful message, you won’t want to miss this great new title in teen chick lit.

4 Stars!

FTC: Big Honcho Media for the blog tour.

The Lonely Hearts Club Blog Tour!

Today I have the pleasure of hosting a stop on Elizabeth Eulberg's blog tour for the release of her first novel The Lonely Hearts Club! I just finished reading this book recently and found it incredibly cute and empowering. I'm so happy to be able to be a part of the blog tour and celebrate it's release.

Now, I don't want to gush too much about the novel, as I'll be posting my formal review in the coming week. If you're interested in reading it, however, there's no need to wait until then. Here's a quick summary of what's beneath the Beatles-inspired cover:

Love is all you need…or is it?

Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She’s had one too many bad dates, and has been hurt by one too many bad boys. It’s a personal choice…and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny’s not the only girl who’s tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worse) in order to get their guys…or the way their guys don’t really care about them.

Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club (named after Sgt. Pepper’s band), and

Penny finds herself near legendary for her non-dating ways – which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can’t help but like…

Interested? Well, then I have a special treat for you. As a part of the blog tour I have an excerpt from The Lonely Hearts Club. All you have to do to read it is click here. I hope you enjoy it!

And if you want more of The Lonely Hearts Club, make sure to check out the next stop on the tour. On January 11th The Book Smugglers will be featuring a fun guest post from Elizabeth about dating. You can also see the complete tour schedule and learn more about Elizabeth and The Lonely Hearts Club on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Most Anticipated Releases of 2010

Here are some of my most anticipated releases of 2010 (ordered by month of release). Let me just warn you now that this is going to be a long list. I'm SUPER excited for 2010.

January

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

The Mark by Jen Nandol

The Enchanted Quest by Frewin Jones

February

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Heist Society by Ally Carter

March

Broadway Lights by Jen Calonita

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken (What? I want my own copy!)

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

April

A Most Improper Magick by Stephanie Burgis

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy (Yes, I like owning books I enjoy. Especially finished copies)

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

May

The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride

Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Anxious Hearts by Tucker Shaw

June

Runaway by Meg Cabot

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Sea by Heidi R Kling

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Everlasting by Angie Frazier

July

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Dark Flame by Alyson Noel

August

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins
Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

September

October

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

November

December

That's all for now! However, this list will probably grow and change over the coming months. What are you looking forward to in 2010?