Free and Bargain E-books

Pass it on… Some great bargains for lovers of YA books are available this month:

FREE, yep, that’s right, FREE for the next few days (for Amazon prime members). It will be only 99 cents from April 1 to May 1:

Check out Island Sting at Amazon.

Anthology by authors Maria V. Snyder, Candace Havens, Shannon Delany, Jill Williamson, Judith Graves, Kitty Keswick, Dawn Dalton, Linda Joy Singleton, and others...

Spirited available on Amazon for 99 cents!! It has augmented reality by Karl Gee.

Under My Skin regularly $4.99, available for 99 cents on Amazon for a limited time.

And for adults, check out Dancing with the Devil, by Cate Masters, FREE on Amazon for a limited time. For other great bargains, check out the Leap Books site on April 1, 2012, for some great bargains.

And for a blog about FREE and BARGAIN BOOKS, see Downtown YA.

Live in California?

If you’re anywhere near Turlock, CA, this weekend, be sure to stop by the Borders in Turlock to meet paranormal author Kitty Keswick:

Next Up: BEA

Art by Salvatore Vuono

So I’ll soon be off to the Big Apple and have lots of plans while I’m there. One of the first is to meet all the cool authors in the Class of 2k10. These authors have been working hard to promote their titles as a group.

They’re following in the footsteps of other classes before them. Class of 2k7 kicked things off when Greg Fishbone gathered a group of that year’s debut MG & YA authors together to help promote their books. Authors from that first year include (from the list on Greg Fishbone’s website):

Class of 2k7 Alumni

Spring Semester 2007

• Ruth McNally Barshaw – Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel (Bloomsbury)
• Kelly Bingham – Shark Girl (Candlewick)
• Julie Bowe – My Last Best Friend (Harcourt)
• Laura Bowers – Beauty Shop for Rent (Harcourt)
• Paula Chase – So Not The Drama (Dafina/Kensington)
• Cassandra Clare – City of Bones (McElderry Books)
• Rosemary Clement-Moore – Prom Dates From Hell (Delacorte)
• Karen Day – Tall Tales (Wendy Lamb Books)
• Aimee Ferris – Girl Overboard (Penguin)
• Paula Jolin – In the Name of God (Roaring Brook)
• Carrie Jones – Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend (Flux/Llewellyn)
• Rose Kent – Kimchi and Calamari (HarperCollins)
• Constance Leeds – The Silver Cup (Viking)
• Elizabeth Scott – Bloom (Simon Pulse)
• Joni Sensel – Reality Leak (Henry Holt)
• C.G. Watson – Quad (Razorbill)
• Sara Zarr – Story of a Girl (Little Brown)

Summer Session 2007

• Sarah Beth Durst – Into The Wild (Razorbill)
• Ann Dee Ellis – This Is What I Did (Little Brown)
• Jeannine Garsee – Before After and Somebody In Between (Bloomsbury)
• Judy Gregerson – Bad Girls Club (Blooming Tree Press)
• Stephanie Hale – Revenge of the Homecoming Queen (Berkley Jam)
• S.A. Harazin – Blood Brothers (Delacorte)
• Thatcher Heldring – Toby Wheeler: Eighth Grade Benchwarmer (Delacorte)
• Marlane Kennedy – Me and the Pumpkin Queen (Greenwillow)
• Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (HarperCollins)
• G. Neri – Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty (Lee and Low)
• Rebecca Stead – First Light (Wendy Lamb Books)

Fall Semester 2007

• Sarah Aronson – Head Case (Roaring Brook)
• Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why (Razorbill)
• A.C.E. Bauer – No Castles Here (Random House)
• Autumn Cornwell – Carpe Diem (Feiwel)
• Greg R. Fishbone – The Penguins of Doom (Blooming Tree Press)
• Sundee T. Frazier – Brendan Buckley’s Universe & Everything In It (Delacorte)
• Jo Knowles – Lessons from a Dead Girl (Candlewick)
• Eric Luper – Big Slick (Farrar Straus & Giroux)
• Suzanne Selfors – To Catch a Mermaid (Little Brown)
• Heather Tomlinson – The Swan Maiden (Henry Holt)
• Tiffany Trent – In the Serpent’s Coils (Mirrorstone)

Recognize any names? Bet you do. Many of those authors went on to make names for themselves. So I’m betting the Class of 2k10 will too.

So pack your bags and join the fun. Follow the Class of 2k10’s slogan:

So who’s in the Class of 2k10? Here’s the list of this year’s stellar authors:

• Swati Avasthi
• Michele Corriel
• Leah Cypess
• Shannon Delany
• Alexandra Diaz
• Bonnie J. Doerr
• Janet Fox
• Judith Graves
• Rhonda Hayter
• Jacqueline Houtman
• Jennifer Hubbard
• Denise Jaden
• Kitty Keswick
• Irene Latham
• Tom Leveen
• Shari Maurer
• Kristina McBride
• Mara Purnhagen
• Laura Quimby
• Jame Richards
• N.H. Senzai
• Jeri Smith-Ready
• Laura L. Sullivan

Celebrate Children’s Book Week

I’m lucky enough to be part of this illustrious group of authors who will be celebrating Children’s Book Week at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC. Here’s a press release about the event:

CELEBRATE CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK WITH SEVEN LOCAL AUTHORS

Chapel Hill, NC, May 16, 2010—Join seven local children’s and young adult authors for a reading, question-and-answer session, and booksigning. Hear excerpts from David Macinnis Gill’s award-winning Soul Enchilada (Greenwillow); Bonnie J. Doerr’s eco-mystery Island Sting (Leap Books); Carolyn McAlister’s retold folktales ¡Holy Molé! (August House) and Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief (Charlesbridge); Maryam Tabibzadeh’s poetic Persian Dreams (Dream Books); Laurie J. Edwards’ biography of R&B singer Rihanna (Lucent) and thriller/romance from the anthology Summer Lovin’ (Wild Rose Press); Adrienne Ehlert Bashista’s picture books on Russian adoption, When I Met You and Mishka: An Adoption Tale (DRT Press); and Anne Runyon’s seasonal picture book, The Sheltering Cedar (Portal Press).

Attendees will be treated to a sneak peek at two of Leap Books’ most recent paranormal releases: Freaksville by Kitty Keswick and Under My Skin by Judith Graves. These teen novels have unique graphics and illustrations by Canadian artist Val Cox.

Leap Books, a newly launched publisher of teen and tween books, is sponsoring this Children’s Book Week . Featured authors are all local members of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), an international organization that provides networking, education, and support for authors and illustrators of children’s books at all stages of their careers.

The American Booksellers Association began Children’s Book Week in 1919. In 1944 the Children’s Book Council (CBC) took over the role of promoting reading and literacy through Children’s Book Week activities. Each year in May, CBC sponsors a nationwide week of events to encourage children and teens to read. A list of these events, as well as related online activities, can be found at the CBC website.

Share the Love…

For those of you interested in collecting badges, here’s # 6 of the Leap Book collection. They’re spreading around the Internet at a rapid rate. Teen bloggers from around the world are collecting them. And now that Leap Books authors have been posted on the 2010 Debut Author Challenge and gone public with the Class of 2k10, they’re being asked for more ARCs (advance reader’s copy). Leap Books had so many requests for ARCs that they’re holding a contest to award ARCs. That’s what this badge is all about. So if you’re interested in trying for an ARC, snag the badges, post them on your blog or social media sites, then let Leap Books know by emailing them at  . Find out more about the contest here. And see the rest of the badges.

And two of the authors–Bonnie J. Doerr and Kitty Keswick–have started on their blog tours… so watch for them on the teen blogs. Author Judith Graves will soon follow. as will Jacqueline Horsfall. Get ready to Leap!

http://leapbks.blogspot.com/2009/11/leap-badge-no6.html

Gruesome Halloween Treats

Need a last minute Halloween recipe? How ’bout Dead Witches Fingers? They’re suitably ghoulish. See the Wolfy Chicks blog. Author Judith Graves shows you how to make these delightfully gruesome treats.

Pair them with Blood-flavored Ice Cream–a recipe by author Kitty Keswick.

Two treats sure to make your guests howl.

Blood-flavored Ice Cream, Anyone??

Entertaining any VAMPS this Halloween? Want to serve them blood-flavored ice cream? Author Kitty Keswick offers a recipe at http://leapbks.blogspot.com/2009/10/blood-flavored-ice-cream-anyone.html.

And that’s not the only fun. While you’re there, check out the free spooky reads: My Prom Date’s a Vampire and Old Flames Die Hard. Get ready for a romp through the graveyard and some spine-tingling fun.

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Ready for some spooky fun??

Here’s a sprout about some free EXCLUSIVES from Leap Books:

http://seed.sproutbuilder.com/twDX2N-XGekTuQGX

Be sure to click on all the tabs to see the exciting developments.

Blood-flavored ice cream anyone?

Wow! In the News…

Leap Books has been getting lots of notice. How cool is that?? The most recent was an interview in the Examiner.

Freaksville by Kitty Keswick

Author Kitty Keswick talks about her upcoming book, Freaksville. Plenty of teens and adults are eagerly awaiting this exciting debut novel. Watch for it on January 8, 2010.

For a fun sneak peek, you can check it out on YouTube or TeacherTube.

And for more about Kitty, you can read her blog, Wolfy Chicks, with author Judith Graves, whose book Under My Skin will be out in March 2010.

Freaksvillle is Book One of an exciting new series featuring werewolves, ghosts, Valkyries, and otherworldly creatures. In this book four teens trapped in a haunted theater on the night of the full moon battle ghosts and werewolves to survive.

If you love werewolves, vamps, and ghosts, you’ll love this series by Kitty Keswick.

Werewolf Lovers Unite

Check out this great book by Kitty Keswick…

FREAKSVILLE

Werewolf lovers this is the spot for   you.

Coming soon from Leap Books…