YA Scramble Wrap Up!

Okay, peeps, the YA Scramble yesterday was oodles of fun, but I am one wrung out sponge! Give us a day to draw the winners and I'll be posting the results here tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who participated! We had a great turnout and I hope you all had fun!

The YA Scramble is here!

***** THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED******

The day you've been waiting for has arrived! *tosses confetti*

Instructions for the YA Scramble:
1) Visit the first blog (based on list below).
2) Read the guestpost.
3) Identify the PURPLE word.
4) Pick out the 3rd letter from the purple word.
5) Go to the next blog.
6) Repeat #3, #4,and #5 until you visited all 14 sites.
7) At the end, take all 14 of the 3rd letters from the PURPLE words and figure out the message near and dear to our hearts. HINT: The secret phrase is 4 words long.
8) Enter the unscrambled message ONCE into this form as your official entry for a chance to win some great prizes from fantastic authors and bloggers.

Participating Blogs - all must be visited:
✯ Kaitlin Simpson

✯ PJ Hoover

✯ Cary Cummings

✯ Heather Cashman

✯ Kathleen Tucker
✯ Jennifer Morris
✯ Cyndi Tefft (You're here!)

✯ Irish/ Gail

✯ Danielle Bunner

✯ Melissa Layton

✯ T.R. Graves

✯ Megg Jensen

✯ Amy Jones

✯ Laura Elliott

Jennifer Morris from Books Make Happy Reviews is guesting on the blog today!

Hello there everyone!! I’m so excited to be here on Cyndi’s blog today! I’d like to say a big, BIG thank you to her for putting this event together, and for hosting me.

So… YA fiction. Today’s Young Adult books are full of fantastic stories based around amazing characters.  There are hardships, and triumphs, and romances, and heartache, and mythology and realism, and honesty and incredible imagination. YA authors create characters we love, stories we love, and give us places and times we can lose ourselves in.

All of this sounds EXACTLY like what I would say about some of my favorite ADULT fiction. In fact, some of my favorite adult fiction authors write for the young adult audience as well! How handy is THAT? Teens that read, and fall in love with a particular author, have an ever increasing chance to find more from the same author when they transition into reading adult fiction. I don’t know if this has always been as widespread as I find it to be now. I don’t believe it has. But I can count on two hands, and be in need of additional fingers, the authors I can think of just off the top of my head that write in both the YA and adult fiction genres. (Let’s name a few, shall we? Richelle Mead, Deborah Cooke, Jackie [Morse] Kessler, Jennifer Estep, Wendy Delsol, John Grisham, James Patterson, Gena Showalter, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Michelle ROWEN, Rachel Caine, Lilith Saintcrow, Rachel Vincent, Dina James, Ridley Pearson, Stephenie Meyer, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr… and there are others, shall I go on??)

My question is… what prompts an adult fiction author to enter the YA lit world? What draws them into writing for a younger audience? Is there a different procedure or mindset for writing for YA? Are there any drawbacks or limitations? These are a few questions I asked a couple of authors who were included in the list above:

1 - Did you start your writing career in YA, or did you come into this age group later? If you came into it later, what prompted the change?

Dina James: I came into the age group later at the encouragement of a former editor. It was so much of a prompted change as a "please try this I want to see what you do." I tried it with a short story and the rest just followed. I never intended to write YA. I just sort of fell into it.

Wendy Delsol: I started writing adult fiction. My first two novels (attempts, perhaps the accurate term) were in this genre. THE MCCLOUD HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS was the third novel I wrote. While it was making the rounds with agents, I decided to give YA a go. I wrote STORK in five months, and it was the project with which I found my agent. The decision to try YA was equal parts experimentation as a new writer and market driven.

2 - Do you approach writing adult novels and YA novels differently? Is there a different preparation necessary? A different mindset during the writing process?

DJ: Yes I do. When writing YA I'm constantly aware of "adult situations" and actions, especially dialogue. Where I can have my adult character do and say things I'm accustomed to, younger people think and respond differently, as they don't have the life experience to draw on an older character might. For instance, I can't have a 14 year old playing a video game that was around before they were born (unless of course it's that character's hobby/collection/obsession, whatever, but that can be justified in the story), or driving a car (legally) or drinking alcohol (again, legally). So you have to think about those things. If your character needs to  get somewhere across town and they can't drive, you have to find a way to get them there. The bus, a friend, portable hole (yeah, I know, my geekdom is showing!)... so you do have to think a little differently, but nothing that varies too much.

WD: I write YA in the first person because I think this perspective best mirrors the psychology of a teen. At the crossroads between childhood and adulthood, experiences are up-close and personal. So far, I’ve written my adult fiction in third person with close perspectives from multiple characters. I tend to use a multi-generational cast as well as flashback scenes to really get into the dynamics and history of the relationships. I’m not sure the preparation—i.e. the get-to-know-you period between the writer and character—is any different. It’s all about fleshing out your protagonist(s) until they feel unique and authentic.

3 - Are there any benefits to writing for a YA audience? Any drawbacks?

DJ: When I was first asked to try a YA story, I balked at the idea. "But I don't write for kids," was my immediate response. Encouragement followed and, despite my reluctance and apprehension, I gave it a shot. I didn't like it. I felt it was restrictive. I couldn't do the things I was used to, etc. In my adult writing there's sex, kissing, blood, guts, and gore. Then I started looking around at what the genre really included. YA is everything adult writing is, only it's through the eyes of a younger person. How young people see things. They are not sheltered from life's trials and tribulations because they are younger. Things that seem small and insignificant to an adult ("this person doesn't like me") can be world-shattering for a teen or tween. Young people react to stress and the world in general in ways different from adults, and seeing things through their eyes is interesting. In YA, there is still sex, kissing, blood, guts and gore. It's just the reactions by the characters that are different, and the graphic depictions are toned down.

The only drawback I can think of is the consciousness of the effect your story will have on young people. Books meant so much to me growing up and I admit to having been influenced in my choices by a novel or two. The only solution is to try not to think about it so much that you end up writing a "cotton" novel - one in which your character is wrapped in cotton so as not to be wounded by the story's events. Just be aware that what you write can (and most likely will) affect someone in some way. You can't control that, so don't worry about it and just write.

WD: There is an excitement for, and interest in YA that is a definite benefit. Readers and bloggers are passionate about the genre. They’re also more likely to follow a character through a series of books. From a writer’s perspective, there’s no drawback to that kind of enthusiasm.

4 - Do your YA novels draw your adult fans, or do you have two distinct followings?

DJ: Honestly, I have no idea. I think they're combined, really. I know there are young people who enjoy my YA, and adults who enjoy it too, but I'm not sure about the young people enjoying my adult writing. Good question. Clueless author.

WD: Given that it has been less than a year since my first book (STORK, a YA) was published and only weeks since my first adult novel (THE MCCLOUD HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS) released, I’m still building a following. I do hope eventually for crossover between the two genres.

5 - Have there been any surprises writing in the YA genre? Any myths you've busted, or unexpected issues you've had to deal with?

DJ: Myths I've busted: "You can't do that in YA." Oh yeah? Whatever the situation, someone has written it in YA and it's been fine. Swearing, sex, abuse, violence, whatever. You can have and do whatever you want in YA that you'd do in adult writing, but it has to be "suitable for the audience." Think of it like the movie ratings. G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17, X. In YA, you're aiming for that G - PG-13 range. This means that you can have some violence and language and so on. It just can't be horrific and graphic or extended. Unexpected issues? I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I didn't expect to develop a series out of it. (Or continue it, for that matter...)

WD: The biggest surprise in writing YA has been how many readers and reviewers are adults (which lends itself to my hope that there will be crossover fans). I think it speaks to the universal, coming-to-age themes of YA. Even years later, adults relate to and remember their own teen years.

6 - Is there anything else you'd like to share about writing YA in addition to adult novels?

DJ: All YA really means is that your lead character is under the age of 18. That's it. Just because the lead is about a young person doesn't mean the book won't appeal to an audience outside your target. Just write the book.

I’d like to thank (with big hugs, chocolate, tea and whatever else makes them smile) Dina James and Wendy Delsol  for their insight.

Now… a question for you… What authors do YOU love that write in both the YA and the adult genres? What do you think are the major differences? Similarities? I’d love to hear your thoughts. AND… 2 lucky commenters (randomly selected) will win books from authors who write in both genres!!! One person will win an ARC of Jackie Morse Kessler’s LOSS (3^rd book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series and one person will win a copy of Deborah Cooke’s FLYING BLIND (1^st in the Dragon Diaries series. Both books will be donated by their authors and mailed directly to the winner. (Please include your email and first name in your comment so you can be reached if you win. If you don’t, you will NOT be eligible.)

**Did you find the word in my post in purple caps?**  You need to collect the 3^rd letter of that word, along with the 3^rd letter of the purple words in the blog posts of the 13 other YA Scramble participants, unscramble the letters to discover their hidden message, and fill out THIS FORM to enter to win the Massive Grand Prize Of Mega Awesomeness! What’s in the Massive Grand Prize Of Mega Awesomeness, you ask??

List of items in the MASSIVE GRAND PRIZE OF MEGA AWESOMENESS:

• ARC of The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (with signed bookmark)
• Ebook of Solstice by PJ Hoover (with trading cards)
• Ebook of The Space Between by Alexandra Sokoloff
• Paperback copy of Perception by Heather Cashman
• Signed paperback ARC of Anathema by Kathleen Tucker
• Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Gift Set (Trade Paperback of Eighth Grade Bites, Vlad Journal, Minion Bling Buttons and Vlad Tote)
• Signed paperback copy of Between by Cyndi Tefft
• Signed hardcover of Clarity by Kim Harrington
• ARC of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• Signed ARC of Fury by Elizabeth Miles
• Signed paperback of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
• ARC of Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
• Copy of The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
• Winner's choice of 5 ebooks from a list of indie authors
• Signed paperback of Sleepers by Megg Jensen
• Ebooks of Soul Quest and The Guardians of Souls by Amy Jones
• Kindle copy of Winnemucca by Laura Elliott (plus a guest post spot on her blog!)
• Paperback copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Don’t forget to leave your comment on this blog to enter to win my individual prizes before you head out to the next site. Good luck, and have FUN!!

The YA Scramble is tomorrow!

The YA Scramble starts tomorrow (Wednesday, September 14) and runs for just 24 hours. A total of 14 awesome bloggers are participating in the craziness, and they are contributing a boatload of prizes just for you!! Can't you feel the love??

Here's all you have to do to win:

Visit each blog on the list, collect the third letter of the purple word from each, then unscramble the secret message! Type the message in the Google form along with your email to be entered to win a HUGE GRAND PRIZE pack!

Just look at this outrageous collection of awesomesauce:

• ARC of The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (with signedbookmark)
• Ebook of Soltice by PJ Hoover (with trading cards)
• Ebook of The Space Between by Alexandra Sokoloff
• Paperback copy of Perception by Heather Cashman
• Signed paperback ARC of Anathema by Kathleen Tucker
• Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Gift Set (Trade Paperback ofEighth Grade Bites, Vlad Journal, Minion Bling Buttons and Vlad Tote)
• Signed paperback copy of Between by Cyndi Tefft
• Signed hardcover of Clarity by Kim Harrington
• ARC of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• Signed ARC of Fury by Elizabeth Miles
• Signed paperback of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
• ARC of Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
• Copy of The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
• Winner's choice of 5 ebooks from a list of indie authors
• Signed paperback of Sleepers by Megg Jensen
• Ebooks of Soul Quest and Guardian of Souls by Amy Jones
• Kindle copy of Winnemucca by Laura Elliott (plus a guestpost spot on her blog!)
• Paperback copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

And that's just the Grand Prize! There will also be prizes at individual blogs along the way, so be sure to leave a comment as you hop from one blog to another, collecting those purple letters.

Help spread the word on Twitter using the #YAScramble hashtag! See you back here tomorrow, when the chaos kicks off. Good luck!

Q&A with P.J. Hoover & Massive Giveaway!

Get ready! Today, I'm interviewing the fabulous P.J. Hoover (mwah!) and you get the chance to win a boatload of prizes. Woot! So let's get this party started, shall we?

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea.

The indie publishing process can be a wild ride like a rollercoaster (hey, that's why we're carnies)! What twists and turns (both good and bad) have you been through so far?

Ups are having people tell me they love the story. Downs are the opposite J But that’s okay. At least people are reading which is why I chose indie in the first place.

How are you marketing your book? Any specific tips or strategies you've found particularly helpful?

Truly, I’m trying lots of different things and seeing what works. I participated in a blog tour, I use twitter and Facebook, and I also run a blog of my own. But I think the funnest thing I did was make trading cards for SOLSTICE with hidden content tied to each page. You can read all about them here: http://www.pjhoover.com/trading_cards.php

If you had to give five reasons why someone should read SOLSTICE, what would they be?

1. You loved TWILIGHT, THE HUNGER GAMES, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, or MATCHED.
2. SOLSTICE has red-hot romance to make your world sizzle.
3. Mythology, anyone? It's like opening Pandora's box without the consequences.
4. Ever wonder why summers are getting hotter?
5. It's $2.99. That's less than a latte and lasts a whole lot longer.

Just for fun: If you could buy property anywhere in the world (price is no object- you can tell I love fantasy!), where would it be and why?

I’d either pick a nice piece of property in Tahiti, or I’d go with somewhere very close to DisneyWorld. I love the beach, but I also love the Haunted Mansion.

What's next on the horizon for you?

Just to keep writing and see what comes next. I have lots of projects and ideas I’m working on, but I’m not a kiss-and-tell kind of girl. That said, I do plan to write a sequel to SOLSTICE!

Good luck to you and thanks for stopping by! 

Thank you so much for letting me be on your wonderful blog. I'm super honored!

***

All of the YA Indies are interviewing each other, so check out my interview over on T.R. Graves' blog.

And now for some giveaways! *rubs hands together*

It's easy peasy to win. Just leave a comment below along with your email address AND tweet using the #yaindiecarnival hashtag! Visit all the blogs to increase your chances of winning! Open internationally, winners announced September 16.

Nineteen different books and some swag were included in the giveaway at last count! Check the list of goodies you can win here. And spread the word! #yaindiecarnival

Do Not Watch While Drinking Hot Coffee!

This is about the stinking funniest thing I've ever seen. Scotland FTW! Eleven!

Thanks to the fabulous Juli Helms for passing along the link!

By Special Request (drum roll please...)

Lindsay Rae from The Violet Hour is one my Twitter BFFs and she requested the recipe for taties 'n eggs (which is a meal oft mentioned in Between). My hubs wrote out the recipe and so I have it here to share with all of you!

Taties 'N Eggs

2 Lbs  (900 grams)  Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 Tbs  (30ml)  Vegetable oil 

8 oz.   (225g)  Breakfast or Country sausage

2 oz.   (50g)  Shredded Cheddar Cheese

8 Large eggs

1 Tbs  (15ml)  Butter

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (230 C).  Cut the potatoes into even cubes approximately ¾ of an inch square (1.5 to 2 cm).  Potatoes can be peeled or the skin can be left on for a more “rustic” meal.  Rinse the cut potatoes under cool water, drain well, and dry on towels.  Place the potatoes in a large bowl, drizzle with the oil, and toss to coat thoroughly.  Place the potatoes on a cookie sheet and roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes.  

While the potatoes roast, brown the crumbled breakfast sausage in a skillet over medium high heat.  Drain the sausage on paper towels and reserve.  Wipe out the skillet and add the butter.  When the butter stops foaming, add the eggs, cooking for about 2 minutes.  When the whites begin to set, add 2 Tbs (30 ml) of water and cover the skillet.  Cook, covered, until the whites have set and the yolks are still soft, about 3-4 minutes more.  

Place the hot, roasted potatoes, the drained sausage and the shredded cheese into a large serving bowl.  Top with the eggs.  Using two large spoons cut the eggs into the potato mixture, mixing all the ingredients into a rough hash.  Season with salt and pepper and serve! 

Makes about 4 servings

Enjoy!

In Which I Dispense Advice (Yikes!)

If you're new here, welcome! *waves* Every Friday, I get together with a host of fabulous ladies who are YA Indie lovers and we blog on the same theme. This week's topic is 3 tips for YA authors.

So, uh... yeah. I'd like to tell you I have this thing down, that sales are through the roof, that Diana Gabaldon Herself has called me up to see if I'd like to get together. Well, that hasn't happened. Yet.

Which brings me to...

Lesson Number One: Dream big but don't forget your goals.
When I published Between, it wasn't because I knew it would be The Next Big Thing. In fact, I knew it probably wouldn't. My main goal was to get it out there, to share this story I love with others who might love it, too. So as fabulous as it would be to say that I'm a bestseller (and that day might come), I can honestly say that I've accomplished what I set out to do. And that's pretty damn awesome.

Lesson Number Two: Make friends.
No one is going to read your book unless they come across it and it's your job to help make that happen. Marketing in the indie world is about making friends, connecting, sharing, and encouraging. While no one likes spam, if you sprinkle in tweets or Facebook posts about your book, people will often help spread the word through comments, retweets and likes. Say thank you and return the favor when you can!

Lesson Number Three: Don't stop writing.
You got on this crazy carnival ride because you had a story to tell, right? Once you've told it, start telling another. And another. You can spend all of your free time doing Lesson Number Two (I will be the first to admit that Twitter is addictive!) but if your new friends love the first book you've written, they're going to want to read more. So be sure to carve out some quality time with your muse. And if your muse happens to wear a kilt, all the better!

Check out some words of wisdom from the rest of the crew!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels.
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Wren Emerson Author of I Wish and a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Nichole A. Williams Author of Eternal Eden, and the upcoming Fallen Eden. She is also participating in the Glassheart Chronicles.
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca and the upcoming 13 on Halloween
Amy Maurer Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms.
T. R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross.
P.J. Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis.
Alicia McCalla Author of the upcoming science-fiction novel Breaking Free
Heather Cashman Author of Perception
Abbi Glines Author of Breathe, and the upcoming Existence and Vincent Boys
Cidney Swanson Author of Rippler
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful and Fractured