Science Geek Appreciation Week: Day Two

    Welcome to Day 2 of Science Geek Appreciation Week with Author Kelly Oram! If you missed yesterday's post about The Avery Shaw Experiment, you can check it out HERE. And don't forget to stop by the Facebook party for all kinds of extra bonus material, games and giveaways. There's a new giveaway every day. CLICK HERE TO PARTY! Now... On to the cover reveal for The Libby Garrett Intervention! The Spanish Fork High Science Squad is back in this hilarious and heartwarming companion novel to The Avery Shaw Experiment.

    Libby Garrett is addicted to Owen Jackson's hot lovin'. But the sexy, popular college basketball player doesn't appreciate all of Libby's awesomeness. He refuses to be exclusive or even admit to people that they're dating. The relationship is ruining Libby and she's the only one who can't see it.
When Libby's behavior spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program—Owen's Anonymous—and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard-as-nails coffee man to be her official sponsor.
...
    Adam Koepp has watched Libby Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he's crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson—a guy with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.
Adam finally gets the chance to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with the Twelve Step program he's the perfect candidate to be Libby's sponsor. But will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an honest look at herself?

Teasers

Libby

Avery sighed. “This isn’t an attack, Libby, it’s an intervention.”

My head snapped Avery’s direction.  “Homegirl says what?”

Avery smiled again, but this time it was full of determination. “You have a problem, Libby. We’ve all come here tonight because we love you and we’re worried about you.”

“Okay, someone definitely cooked up something special in the chem lab or something. You’ve all officially gone mental. I’m not on drugs.”

Avery shook her head. “But your relationship with Owen is just as destructive.”

I’d heard enough. “An intervention?” They were comparing me to a drug addict and saying Owen was my crack? “I came here to apologize to all of you and this is what I get?” I jumped to my feet. “This is such equus ferus feces!”

I bolted for the door and got about three steps before Adam intercepted me, blocking the way like a lean, tattoo-covered wall of attitude. He stood in a typical bouncer’s stance with his feet shoulder width apart and his arms folded across his chest. Though he wasn’t particularly tall or bulky, he was still intimidating. I glared up at him. “And you’re a gluteus maximus!”

Adam’s face pulled into a frown and he looked to the group to translate. Aiden grinned. “That’s Libby speak for ‘This is horse shit’ and ‘You’re an ass’.”

Adam brought his gaze back to me, and I kept up my glare, refusing to take it back. I waited for him to flip out on me, but was shocked when his lips twitched as if he was fighting a smile. I had to be wrong, though, because there was no way this jerk had a sense of humor. “Get out of my way.”

He face hardened again. “You sit that luscious little gluteus maximus of yours back down on that couch right now,” he said, “or I’ll put it there myself.”

It really does not happen often, but I was rendered completely speechless. I was also unable to move, save the way my eyes tripled in size as I gawked at him. He gave me a dry look and added, “Capisce, Cider Chick?”

Adam

When I looked at Libby, she shrugged as though she was as helpless in this situation as I was. “Help me, Coffee-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”

It was so Libby.

“Okay.” I prayed I wasn’t making a huge mistake.

Kate and Avery both squealed and pounced on me, giving me hugs. I was still wary, but their energy was contagious and I cracked a smile.

“Thank you, Adam,” Avery said. “You really, really are the best. Is there any chance you could get started tomorrow? Libby managed to say no to Owen tonight, but if we don’t help keep her distracted tomorrow, she’s going to end up in his very expensive hotel suite tomorrow night.”

And just like that, all my reservations about this disappeared. I was all in, and failure was not an option. Libby was never going to end up in that jerk’s bed ever again if I could help it. “Tomorrow’s as good a day as any. I’m off work at two.”

Libby was already at the door trying to escape, but she stopped before turning the knob. “Actually, I need you ready to go at seven thirty in the morning. Avery already cleared it with your boss. He was more than happy to take your shift. He said he’s been trying to get you to take a vacation day for months.”

My head reared back. “You cleared my schedule tomorrow?”

Libby looked me right in the eyes and grinned wickedly. The smile did something to my insides. “You’re mine tomorrow, Coffee Man,” she purred jokingly.

I stopped breathing. Hers. Yes. Yes I was. Heaven help me, but I was hers. This was so bad. If I wasn’t careful Libby Garrett was going to break me. I had to take control of this situation fast. I don’t know what kind of look I had on my face when I stalked across the room toward her, but her eyes widened and she backed up until she bumped into the door. “You’ve got that all wrong,” I said, placing my hand on the door beside her head, trapping her in front of me.

I’d meant to intimidate her a little, but when she sucked in a breath and shivered, I lost control again. I leaned in a little too close and my next words accidentally came out in a possessive growl. “Starting tomorrow, Cider Chick, you are mine.”

Coming October 24th! 

Available for preorder now at: 

Amazon * iBooks * Kobo 

Special preorder price of $2.99. 

(Two dollars off the normal listing price of $4.99)

    This follow-up companion novel to The Avery Shaw Experiment can be read as a stand alone. (But where's the fun in that?)  The Avery Shaw Experiment is only $0.99 right now. So why wait until October to meet Libby when you can fall in love with her right now for only a dollar?

 Download The avery Shaw Experiment at Amazon * iBooks * B&N * Kobo

For more bonus material, teasers, games, and chances to win things like signed books and swag stop by the Facebook event, happening now through Friday.

Click Here to Party!

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About Kelly Oram:

       Kelly wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.  Connect with Kelly:       

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Science Geek Appreciation Week: Day One

   
   Welcome to Day 1 of Science Geek Appreciation Week with author Kelly Oram--a fun-filled week of teasers, interviews, games, giveaways, and lots and lost of science! We're going to kick off the week by introducing you to the stars of the Spanish Fork High Science Squad--Club President Avery Shaw and her newest recruit, Grayson Kennedy--in their debut novel The Avery Shaw Experiment.

Title: The Avery Shaw Experiment 

Author: Kelly Oram

 Publisher: Blufields 

Pages:221 

Available: Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo 

 Summary: 

    When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically. 

     The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart. 

     Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when

Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

Teaser:

Avery

I was so out of it that I’d slipped into the bathroom while Grayson was in the shower, and I didn’t even notice until he poked his head out from behind the curtain with a surprised look on his face. “Aves, babe, I’m a little busy here.” He cocked an eyebrow and gave me a crooked smile. “Unless you’re planning to join me...?” Just then there was a loud knock on the door, and my mother’s worried voice called out to me. I looked up at Grayson and in a moment of sheer panic didn’t think twice before jumping behind the curtain with him. “Whoa! Avery! I was only teasing!” I could hear Grayson, but I couldn’t really respond. I leaned my back against the cold tile wall and closed my eyes, letting the hot water rain down on me. There was another knock, louder this time, and then the door opened. “Avery? That you in here, sweetie?” I frantically shook my head, praying that Grayson would do the right thing.  “Sorry, Kaitlin. It’s just me.” “Oh. Sorry, Grayson. I thought maybe you were Avery.”  “Yeah, I get that a lot,” he teased.

My mom laughed and then sighed heavily. “If you see her after you’re done, tell her I’m looking for her.” “Will do.” The door clicked shut and things got quiet. I stood there for so long that my head started to hurt and I got really dizzy. My knees buckled. Grayson quickly caught me under the arms. “Avery, breathe,” he commanded. I took a breath. As oxygen flooded my lungs, I realized it was probably the first breath I’d taken in minutes. Literally. “Aves,” a low steady voice said. I felt hands on either side of my face. I opened my eyes, and Grayson’s beautiful piercing blue ones were staring down at me from just inches away, taking up my entire field of vision. “You good now?” he asked. I may have been breathing, but I would never be “good” again. I flung my arms around him and began to release gut-wrenching sobs into his chest. 

Grayson

I always looked at her as sort of a pesky little sister, but that all changed the day my brother dumped her. Why, you ask? Let me put it this way: When a girl lets you be the one to hold her as her entire world falls apart, even though you’re ass naked, it changes the way you see her. The soaking-wet, see-through t-shirt didn’t hurt, either. ...

“You look really nice,” I blurted, unable to hide my surprise. The compliment startled her. She blushed and looked at her feet as she mumbled, “I need to blow my hair dry.” I grinned. “Don’t want to have to explain to anyone how it got wet, eh?” She turned even brighter red but then glared at me. “I just don’t want my hair to freeze.” I laughed as I threw my hands up in surrender and then laughed even harder when she stalked past me into the bathroom. I leaned against the door and watched, curiously, as she dried her hair. There was something oddly fascinating about watching Little Avery Shaw primp. She’d never seemed like such a real girl to me before. She wasn’t so little anymore, either. She caught me staring at her in the mirror, so I quickly said, “I thought dorks were supposed to have bad hair and horrible, frumpy fashion senses.” “Just because I enjoy learning doesn’t mean I’m a dork,” she said, insulted. “Two words for you Aves: science club.” 

This week only, The Avery Shaw Experiment is on sale for just $0.99! Make sure to snag a copy while it's cheap!

Amazon * iBooks * B&N * Kobo

For more bonus material, teasers, games, and chances to win things like signed books and swag stop by the Facebook event, happening now through Friday.

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About Kelly Oram!
   Kelly wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.  Connect with Kelly                

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Unmade (Entangled #2) by Amy Rose Capetta (Review)

   The second installment of the Entangled series, Unmade finishes off the story of Entangled in a very disappointing and erratic manner. I found Unmade's plot to be very badly written, and all over the place. It was hard to follow and uninteresting to read. The characters are very badly developed in this novel. I could not empathize with any of them. When I tried to understand the villains, hero's or in-between I either found their actions were not backed up in anyway prior in the story, or that they really had no logical motivations at all. There were so many unexplained things in this novel that it drove me crazy. For example: The villains origin and how they ALL were defeated, how earth was fine all along, how the hero in the novel came up with half of the thoughts and plans she did; even though it they did not follow her train of thought.
   As a reading experience, Unmade was sub-par and I do not recommend it. I found Unmade difficult to digest, and had to force myself to read it. Advice for the author would have to be 1) plan out your plot in detail before you start writing, and make sure you cut the boring, unnecessary and illogical parts out. And 2) Make sure you know your characters super well, make them round characters, and on top of that make sure to leave clues in their thoughts and actions so the readers can also get a firm grasp on the characters.
    Ultimately, my honest rating for this book would have to be ONE OUT OF FIVE STARS!

*Reviewers Copy review*

Giveaway of Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos!

  Whooohooo!  Time for another giveaway! To win a fabulous copy of Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos in hard cover, complete the tasks bellow to get ballets/chances to win this awesome prize! More you do, higher your chances will be! (Reminder: You have to put in your entry information, then complete a tasks to enter the giveaway effectively)

Synopsis:

In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs sixteen-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives?
        Smart, provocative, and entertaining, this thrilling page-turner for teens questions the cult like mentality of fame and fashion. Are you in or are you out?

(CA and US residents only)

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Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Elaine Dimopoulos +GIVEAWAY!

Bio:

  Elaine studied writing at Simmons College’s Center for the Study of Children’s Literature. She was admitted to its M.F.A. program on the basis of a single short story. That story would become the first chapter of her novel Material Girls.
Before dedicating herself to writing for young people, Elaine earned a degree in literature from Yale and an M.A. in education leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia. She currently teaches children’s literature and writing courses at Boston University and Grub Street. She served as the Associates of the Boston Public Library’s Children’s Writer-in-Residence while she wrote Material Girls and was also named a St. Botolph Club Emerging Artist. She blogs about children’s books for the parenting site Mommybites.com, and her writing has appeared in Of Looms and Lilies, a modern dance composition by choreographer Jody Weber. Elaine lives outside Boston with her family.

She has Written:

Material Girls

Synopsis: 

In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs sixteen-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives?
        Smart, provocative, and entertaining, this thrilling page-turner for teens questions the cult like mentality of fame and fashion. Are you in or are you out?

(Check out the bottom for a special GIVEAWAY!)

Now on to the Interview!!!

1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I wrote poetry when I was younger. I came to writing for children late; I didn’t really start until I entered graduate school at age 28.

2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

Regarding MATERIAL GIRLS: I want readers to think a little harder about where their clothing come from and where it ends up once it’s discarded. I also want readers to realize that celebrity is alluring, but it always comes at a cost.

3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

1. Try to ignore any perfectionist tendencies, and just write a lot. 2. Be open to criticism and embrace the revision process. 3. Don’t be a slave to the peripheral stuff: social media, web design, etc. These things matter but not nearly as much as the writing itself.

4) What is your favourite novel, why?

So hard to pick. I was heavily influenced by FEED by M.T. Anderson when I wrote MATERIAL GIRLS. It’s as close to perfect as you get with a dystopian novel.

5) Who is your favourite author, why?

These days, I’m all about Karen Russell’s short stories. Her prose is breathtaking, and her imagination is wild and weird.

6) What are your favorite pastimes besides writing?

Reading, teaching, spending time with my family, singing, going to plays and concerts.

7) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

I have to say my mother. Television was practically nonexistent in my house growing up, so I was forced to read all the time and to imagine fantasy worlds in which to play.

8) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

I’ve never had to answer this question before! Let’s see. 1. Visit the Greek islands. 2. Go to Africa, Australia, & South America. 3. Serve on a literary awards committee (Caldecott, Newbery, etc.). 4. Have a cameo in a film (c’mon MATERIAL GIRLS movie!). 5. Set up a charity to support aspiring writers.

9) What is your funniest childhood memory?

I was a goody-goody in school, but one time in fourth grade I was standing behind my friend Jenny who was giving a presentation at the chalkboard. Maybe I was holding a poster for her? The teacher left the room, and I took the opportunity to write, “Jenny is a potato,” on the board. I have no idea why I thought this line was funny. So she had to give the rest of the presentation with kids snickering. And then I didn’t get in trouble, though some of the boys in the class who laughed, did. Hmm. I’m realizing this story makes me sound like a mean girl. I wasn’t… but this wasn’t my finest moment, either!

10) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be? 

Being young is hard to bear! You’re expected to be so responsible and accomplished, yet you get reminders daily of how little you know and how far you still have to grow. Try not to resent the adults who condescend to you. And remember when you’re older to treat young people the way you’d like to be treated right now.

GIVEAWAY!!! 

To win a fabulous copy of Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos in hard cover, complete the tasks bellow to get ballets/chances to win this awesome prize! More you do, higher your chances will be! (CA and US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Tina Connolly!

Bio:

    Tina Connolly is the author of the Ironskin trilogy from Tor Books, and the Seriously Wicked series, from Tor Teen. Ironskin, her first fantasy novel, was a Nebula finalist. Her stories have appeared in Women Destroy SF, Lightspeed, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and many more. Her narrations have appeared in audiobooks and podcasts including Podcastle, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, John Joseph Adams' The End is Nigh series, and more. She runs the Parsec-winning flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake.
    She is originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but she now lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.
Her Website: http://www.tinaconnolly.com/

She has Written:

Ironskin, The End in Nigh, Copperhead, Seriously Wicked, Silverblind, Old Dead Futures: A Tor.Com Original, Scales and Other Transformations, That Seriously Obnoxious Time I Was Stuck at Witch Rimelda's One Hundredth Birthday Party: A Tor.Com Original, A Buildup of Days, A Million Little Paper Airplane Stories, (Writing Prompts: The Paper Airplane, #2), Coin Flips, and Writing Prompts: The Paper Airplane.

Now on to the Interview!

1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I didn’t really start writing until after college. I mean, I did write some bits of plays and some other things here in there in high school and college, but I was mostly focused on acting at the time (and READING, of course!) Anyway, after college I ended up in a 24-hour call center that was reasonably dead at night. So I started writing.

2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

The first time I was asked this question (about five years ago) I said I was just setting out to entertain. The questioner had read some of my work and thought that this wasn’t actually true, so then I went back and thought about this question a lot. Now I think if your story becomes a “message” story then you’ve lost the game, but it’s true, there are a lot of things I feel strongly about that go straight into my work. One, obviously, is that I like writing stories about girls realizing they can save the day and then doing it. (I like people in general realizing that they’re capable of more than they thought.) So I guess what I want people to gain is a) a greater understanding of other people (one of my delights in reading fiction) and b) a greater understanding of the fact that they are awesome and can go forth and be awesome.

3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

First, I do think it’s great to write just for fun. I think everyone should have an art they do for fun. I sing and play the piano, for example, neither particularly well, but certainly well enough to entertain me. :) 

1. Read a lot, obviously. If you don’t like reading you should probably ask yourself what you like better and be doing that (like, if you like movies and want to write, then you could try writing film scripts)

2. If you want to do it seriously then you should probably set yourself some goals of writing and finishing and submitting things. Look at your process and see where you break down (hard to find time? hard to finish? frightening to submit?)

3. And then my favorite piece of actual writing advice is to take all the things you love and put them all in. Put another way, write exactly the book you want to read. (This is why my book that just came out, Seriously Wicked, has wicked witches who are hilariously unpleasant (to me, anyway), demons who imitate Elvis, stubborn girls who try very hard to rescue the boy in distress, etc, etc.)

4) What is your favourite novel, why? / Who is your favourite author, why?

Here are a couple:

Jane Austen – Pride & Prejudice. (It’s been so lovely to see all the modern adaptations – many are very good.) My list goes P&P, Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey. Austen is both so witty and so sharp when it comes to observing people.

Diana Wynne Jones – Fire & Hemlock, Witch Week, Archer’s Goon, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc, etc. DWJ is also very funny, and very sharp in her character observations. She also has such marvelous, magical, and creative  worldbuilding. I love all her books.

5) What are your favorite pastimes besides writing?

I have a 4.5 year old and a 1.5 year old so I haven’t had a lot of free time in the last five years! My other two main interests are theatre and art. I make time for podcasting (I just finished up my flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake at 150 episodes.) Last year I wrote a full-length YA dystopia play with a theatre friend and we produced it here in Portland. And I theoretically still work summers as a face painter, though my novel deadlines have been too tight the last couple summers to really sneak away to do that. I would like to get back to some everyday sketching—life drawing and painting outdoors—and once we get some more of the fixer house fixed, I look forward to getting a piano again.

6) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

My parents—my mom always encouraged us to try things and take chances, and my dad told us wonderful bedtime stories—one was like a long serialized Indiana Jones type adventure.

7) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

- I want to spend a semester or year abroad with my family.

- I want to have a book or film script made into a movie.

I don’t know, I’ve been lucky enough to get some of the things on my previous bucket list already! So, three things I’d like to have as soon as my current, coming-up-really-soon-now, deadline for turning in Seriously Wicked 2 is met:

- a real dinner out, like with a babysitter and everything

- time to bake something extravagant, like cinnamon rolls or pie

- time to read huge vast quantities of my massive TBR pile. Ideally I’ll do some of this sitting outside in a deck chair. 

8) What is your funniest childhood memory?

My best friend and I decided to audition for the junior high talent show. After the fifth girl went through her lip-synced rendition of Eternal Flame, we got up and did a snappy rendition of that teenage classic, Who’s on First? There was utter silence. 

9) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Love each other. Sleep is awesome. So is pie. You can grow up to have two careers, if you want. You might need coffee to do this. Travel. Use your feet. Be kind.

Ice Kissed (Kanin Chronicles #2) by Amanda Hocking (Review)

   The second installment of the Kanin Chronicles, Ice Kissed continues the mystery of the dangerous traitors trying to take down the Kanin monarchy. Sent to a neighboring kingdom to investigate a missing Queen, Bryn Aven is thrown into a deeper world of danger, intrigue and mystery. Reading the novel, I found that Ice Kissed does not start off at it's best food, but the novel definitely improved farther you get into the story.

   There was a good chunk of politics towards the start, which was boring, but further I got into the story, more action and interesting moments began to occur. I still very much enjoy Bryn as a character, and believe her to be well developed. Her personality is solid and her motivations make sense to her actions. There are definitely some plot twist in this novel that I will not spoil, but that I will say where very intense to read,
   For the romantic connections in the novel, there is definitely room for improvement. I felt there was not enough tension and depth to the relationship between Bryn and her romantic interest. That lack of intensity did take away from the story in some ways. Looking past that though, I did enjoy reading Ice Kissed. I'm not sure I'd go as far as to recommend it, but if you are looking for a book to read in your free time, Ice Kissed and the Kanin series can definitely be a viable option. I give Ice Kissed the rating of FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*