kelly said

Hi everyone! Whee, do I have a special treat for you!

I managed to score an interview with Quincy Amarante! The main character in young adult author, L.S. Murphy’s novel, REAPER!

But first, please allow me to take a moment to introduce you to the lovely mind behind the novel, L.S. Murphy…

L.S. Murphy lives in the Greater St. Louis area where she watches Cardinals baseball, reads
every book she can find, and weaves tales for teens and adults. When not doing all of the above,
she tends to The Bean (aka her daughter), her husband and a menagerie of pets. “A Reason to
Stay”, a contemporary romance novella, is available as of November 2, 2012. Reaper is her
debut young adult novel and will be released on January 7th, 2013.

She is a co-rep for the Southern Illinois region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a member of the St. Louis Writer’s Guild.

You can find her here:
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Publisher

Now, for a brief introduction to Miss Quincy Amarante, I’d like to share with you the blurb for REAPER!

There’s no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim
reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says
she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially
since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben
Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.
Maybe … just maybe … that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much
needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

* * *

Ooo! *tries to sit still and not reveal any spoilers!* hehe! However, I will share a taste of what’s behind the cover…

A spitball stops in mid-air less than an inch from my nose.

It hangs there. I assume everyone else notices the wet wad of paper too, but when I turn to my bestie Jordan, her mouth is stuck open with her eyes half closed.

She was just laughing. Now she’s … frozen?

The sudden silence is louder than a room full of gossiping teenagers.

Mini-quakes creep up my spine like a centipede hurrying toward my hair.

I’m not entirely sure my heart is beating. I wave my shaking hand in front of Jordan, hoping this will break her free of whatever happened.

No reaction.

Why am I moving?

So many times, I wished Jordan would stop talking. Now is the one time I need her high-pitched voice to pierce my ears.
Quin, relax. It’s okay. No way this is real. I pinch my arm hard, but it doesn’t change anything.

A loud pop makes me spin around in my seat. A man stands in front of the chalkboard in a bluish-white robe staring at me through blizzard white eyes. He holds a staff in front of him that looks like melting glass.

“Hello, Quincy,” he says in a deep velvet voice. “How would you like to see your future?”

I stand and stumble toward the back of the room. “Who are you supposed to be?

“Gandalf?” I’m unable to keep the tremor out of my voice.

“One person dresses up like me in a movie, and that’s all I hear.” He leans back on Mr. Spragg’s desk. “I’m far more attractive than him and so much more fun.” He winks and lifts his robe, revealing a pair of yellow and red striped Bermuda shorts and orange flip-flops.

My eyes pop wider at the mismatched mess, but I keep my thoughts about his sense of fashion to myself. “Who are you?”

His sigh echoes off the walls. “I’m Destiny.”

“Who?”

Rolling his eyes, he raises the staff high to his left. Like a swordsman, he stabs and swooshes it down in an arch. The air ripples as a dark slit opens. A man in a deep brown pinstripe suit steps through. His cheap sneakers don’t match the formality of the tan fedora and horn-rimmed glasses.

A pony-sized white German shepherd saunters in behind him, and I take an automatic step back. The dog turns his head, black orbs where its eyes should be.

Pinstripe man glances my way before turning toward the person who calls himself Destiny. His features contort and a maroon tint creeps over his face.

“What the f—”

Destiny flips his finger and the new guy shuts up. After a moment, he does another finger move.

“We said when she was eighteen, Des.”

“I’m aware of that, Forsyth.”

“She’s not eighteen.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Sarcasm fills each word as Destiny raises his eyebrows like a flag on the Fourth of July.

Forsyth glares. “Then why am I here?”

“I let you pick the date, but I never agreed to honor it.” Destiny pats the dog on the head with a sneer and wipes his hands on his robe.

“Now is the time. Teach her.”

 * * *

You guys, you can click HERE to add REAPER to your to-read shelf!

And now! I’m so excited to introduce to you, the main character from LS Murphy’s, REAPER, Miss Quincy Amarante! 

Hi Quincy, thank you for joining me and my friendly followers, how are you today?

Considering everything, I’m doing just great.

I like your outfit today, a compliment for your stellar fashion sense, but also a thank you for not wearing your reaper robes while meeting with me, hehe!

Well, Stella McCartney is a great designer. I don’t normally wear gowns, but I love this iridescent blue. Really brings out my eyes, don’t you think?

 Absolutely stunning! *swoons with jealousy!*

Do you mind talking to us a bit about Forsyth, who is he to you and how do you feel about him?

You can’t be serious? How would you feel about him? *crosses arms*

Heh, yeah, I getcha. Now, Ben, wow, I wasn’t sure what to think of him at first, but now, whew! I’ve had a change of heart.Without revealing any spoilers, can you talk a little bit about him, your friendship then and now?

Ben’s… well, Ben. He keeps me on my toes. I never really know what to expect from him. He’s totes different than any other boy I’ve known.

So, a lot of things have changed for you over the course of your story, tell us, at the beginning of your tale, what was your favorite way to spend the day?

Shopping with Jor. Listening to Fridates on my iPod while reorganizing my closet and disinfecting the house. You know, the usual.

hehe, sure, the usual! And since you’ve accepted your new reaping responsibility, what’s your favorite way to spend the day now?

Not doing my job.

What’s your favorite part of your story?

When I find out why I’m famous.

Yeah! Looking back over your story, is there anything you wish you could do differently, regrets?

As Frank Sinatra said, I did it my way.

Awesome. What’s next for you Quincy?

Same old, same old.  

Thank you so much Quincy! I appreciate you stopping by to chat with us on unofficial business, and please, take no offense Ms. Reaper, but my hope of hopes is that I don’t see you again for a long, long, long time, hehe!

*Listens* Well, not anytime soon anyway.  Thanks for having me.

 It was my pleasure, Quincy!

REAPER is available NOW, my friendlies! Through BN and amazon.

Thank you all for stopping by. <3

4 Comments | In: J.Taylor Publishing, READING | tags: J.Taylor Publishing, READING. | #

Hi my friendlies! Long timey no talkie, huh? Sorry ’bout that, but I’ve been a busy little beetle writing, reviewing the Advanced Reader Copy for J.Taylor Publishing’s MAKE BELIEVE anthology (squee!), preparing for some interviews in December (starts nibbling fingernails *NOW* eep!), and writing writing writing!

However, I’m baaaack! And I’ve been nominated for THE BOOKER AWARD by my writer buddy Rebecca Hart, whose debut novel CALL OF THE SEA is out now through Inkspell Publishing.

The rules for the award are simple, I have to:

1. Choose my top five books

2. post the Booker Award Icon

3. Nominate others for the Award.

Well, to quote Neil Gaiman, “Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d like most not to lose.”

eep! I’m no good at choosing favorites! So here’s the top five books I have on my shelf that bear the evidence of repeated reading. In no particular order:

THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton

I read this book in 6th grade and I don’t think I’ve put it down since, hehehe! I’m a superfan of this story, I’ve read this paperback so many times that the spine can barely hold the pages. I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen this movie and I bet I’m one of the few left who remember the TV series they tried to get going, remember, the one with David Arquette playing Two-Bit? *sigh!* This is one of the few stories where I know exactly what’s going to happen, when and how and yet it still elicits an emotional response from me every time I read it.

GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell

I love this book because Katie Scarlett (yes, I know her name is Scarlett O’Hara, but I can’t help but toss in my Irish accent when I call her by her nickname, hehe!) is a character who makes things happen, who’s actions propel the story forward and keep me as a reader clinging to each page.

MISERY by Stephen King

I actually have a love hate love relationship with this book. It’s the first book that gave me nightmares (scary that I love that, hehe!) and it’s the first book that’s ever drove me insane with the “book within a book but it’s all jacked up” scenes. See, Paul Sheldon is forced to write a novel on a typewriter with a few keys missing. So, we, as the reader, get to read Paul’s unedited manuscript, with the absent letters filled in by hand. If I’m not mistaken, I believe the letter “E” was broken (along with a few others that snapped off along the way, adding to Paul’s torment as well as ours). Can you imagin  r ading a publish d nov l with a good chunk of l tt rs missing from the t xt, hard  nough to r ad a s nt nce in this blog post with th  l tt r “E” missing, right?  Anyways, back to the nightmare part — yes, this is very true. There’s a certain part where Annie is punishing Paul for his attempts to escape, and the description was what had me closing the book and not returning to finish until nearly six months later! eep! So much worse/scarier than the movie (and that is all I have to say about that, hehe!) Oh, and the other reason I love this book is that it’s by Stephen King, the only “monster” in it is human (which can be more terrifying than any space alien, goblin, or ghoul) and it took place in Colorado.

FARENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury

A city where books are burned and firemen hoses spray kerosene instead of water?! One of my earlier forays into dystopian fiction, where the future is a bleak alternative to what we know now, and how one man’s shift in perspective is enough to spark a change in the world. Totally awesome book.

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS by Shel Silverstein

This book of poems was fun, goofy, scary and one of my favorites as a kid. Eighteen flavors, ickle me pickle me tickle me too, Sick, Boa Constrictor, For Sale — hehehehe! I loved them all.

So my friendly followers! I nominate YOU to step up and name YOUR five favorite books! Or if you can’t choose five favorites (I feel your pain, trust me! ), how about the last five books you purchased or checked out from the library? omgosh, I’ve been away for so long that I’d love to know what you’re all reading!

No Comments | In: READING, Uncategorized | tags: READING. | #

hellooooooo there my friendlies!

woohoo for wednesday! we’re on that pivot point where the week tips down and slides into the weekend! whee!

so, I have a little something something to brag about, hehehe! *in my wickedly childish singsong voice* I’m reading something you’re not reading! (unless you have an ARC like I do!)

AFTER DARK by Emi Gayle!

This YA PNR beauty weighs in at a 84,000 words, promising a lot of story to fall in love with! However, you’ll have to wait before you can run your fingers across the pages, or lay out the downloading-now welcome mat to your e-reader, because AFTER DARK won’t be released by J.Taylor Publishing until OCTOBER 31, 2012. You can click HERE to add it to your to-read shelf though!

Here’s a taste for you . . .

What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.

In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.

Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.

In this, the first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.

4 Comments | In: READING | tags: READING. | #

Hello my friendlies!

It’s Friday! Whatcha reading?  I am so totally looking forward to the OCT 2012 release of THE CURIOSITIES a collection of stories by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and, Colorado author Brenna Yovanoff that it’s my Friday *wanna* read, hehe!

(You might also know these talented ladies as, The Merry Sisters of Fate)

Here’s a sneaky peeky at what you can expect to find between the pages:

A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.

Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.

A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream).

These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.

Ooo! Sounds totally awesome to me! I’m so excited I’ve already added it to my t0-read shelf in anticipation of the release date, hehe! Click HERE if you want to add it to your to-read shelf, too.

So, why am I chatting you guys up about a book that isn’t even out yet?

Because, Brenna Yovanoff, in all her awesomeness, is hosting a giveaway! Yup, that’s right, click HERE to for the full details on her site to see how YOU can enter to win a copy of THE CURIOSITIES.

Whatcha think, my friendlies? Are you curious about THE CURIOSITIES?

2 Comments | In: READING, Uncategorized | tags: READING. | #

omgosh my friendlies! I was goofing off on my facebook page the other day (click HERE if you wanna see it) when I noticed my number of “likes” had jumped! It’s always a bit of a thrill when I see a friend takes interest in my page, or someone new tags along for the ride.

But this one, omgosh, I did a combo *squee-happydance* that rivaled the likes of Snoopy and Bobby Hill* combined, hehehe!

The DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY  “likes” my facebook author page!  

hehe! I remember how uber-bouncy I was when they added FANGTALES to their stacks, the YA vampire anthology featuring my short story, SANCTUARY. And now, yup! I’m going all nerd-girl again because to me, being a young adult author and having your local library “like” you is like, omgosh, the coolest!

This here is a pic of what I see when I walk up to my library. Yup! that is a sculpture of a GIANT red chair with a horse standing on it – cue the spools to my imagination, we’ve just entered storyland, hehehe!

THE YEARLING sculpted by Donald Lipski, 20' x 10', steel & fiberglass

I love my library! See, if I had all the money in the world I would buy all the books, and if I had all the money I would have tons of shelves to hold all my precious’, hehehe! *insert gollum garbles here*

But, since I don’t have unlimited funds, that’s where my local library comes in. Sometimes I walk in there and feel like it’s my personal book vault, one that I just happen to share with a few thousand or so others, hehehe! Really though, where else can you try a book out before you buy it? Sure, I have my list of authors who’s work I adore and find myself willing to purchase their latest and greatest without hesitation or buyer’s remorse because I know I’ll get my money’s worth in a book I’m going to read over and over again. Yup, I’m a re-reader my friendlies, hehe! But! For those where I’m not sure or the reviews seem too good to be true, that’s when I take a stroll down to 14th and Broadway and walk away with books stacked from my bellybutton to my chin.

So tell me my friendlies, do you buy all the books, hehehe! Are you a fan of your local library, too?

*Bobby Hill ~ for those of you NOT familiar with Mike Judge’s animated series, KING OF THE HILL, check out this clip (this is how I squee, hehe!   )

8 Comments | In: FANGTALES, READING | tags: Denver Public Library, FANGTALES, READING, SANCTUARY. | #