BOOK 'EM: FIVE 2012 TITLES I CAN'T WAIT FOR

As one of the Apocalypsies (2012 YA and MG Debut Authors) I have been fortunate to get to know a lot of authors with books coming out that I cannot wait to get my hands on!  I definitely don't want to miss the 2012 books from our own Sleuths:  Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck; Blind Spot by Laura Ellen;  Pretty Crooked by Elissa Ludwig; an.d Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn.

Here are two follow up books that are on my must read list for 2012: 

TIMEPIECE by Myra McEntire

From Goodreads: Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devestating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts


From Talia:


HOURGLASS was a twisty, time travelly (yes, I made that word up) blend of science fiction and paranormal romance.  The mystery surrounding the phenomenon Emerson experiences is page-turning, and has far reaching consequences.  I expect TIMEPIECE to delve into some of those bigger mysteries, and it also features Kaleb, my favorite character from HOURGLASS, in the lead.

PERCEPTION by Kim Harrington:

From Goodreads:  When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

From Talia:  I read CLARITY in one sitting.  I love the idea of a girl using her psychic abilities to solve crimes.  And Kim Harrington does a great job of mixing mystery, thrills and light romance. 

There are dozens of fantastic looking 2012 debuts!  Here are a few that might not be your radar yet, but are definitely on mine:

SKINNY by Donna Cooner (October 2012):

From Goodreads:

About a girl whose obesity and negative thoughts stand in the way of her dreams of becoming a singer and finding love, until she begins a long, hard journey of self-discovery and reinvention culminating in gastric-bypass surgery, only to find that love was never dependent on her size.

From Talia: 

Donna is a critique partner, so I've cheated and read this one early, but it is amazing in so many ways.  Funny and moving, this book speaks to anyone who has let their own voice of negativity hold them back.








STARTERS by Lissa Price (March 13, 2012)

From Goodreads:


Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . .

From Talia:

This one looks intense.  What evil plans does Prime Destinations have (aside from renting out young bodies for seniors to use)?  Can't.  Wait.


KISS THE MORNING STAR by Elissa Hoole (April 1, 2012)

From Goodreads:

The summer after high-school graduation, a year after her mother’s tragic death, Anna has no plans – beyond her need to put a lot of miles between herself and the past. With forever friend Kat, a battered copy of Kerouac’s DHARMA BUMS, and a car with a dodgy oil filter, the girls set out on an epic road trip across the USA. Maybe somewhere along the way they’ll prove or disprove the existence of God. Maybe they’ll even get laid . . .

It’s a journey both outward and inward. Through the Badlands and encounters with predatory men and buffalo. A crazy bus ride to Mexico with a bunch of hymn-singing missionaries. Facing death, naked in the forest with an enraged grizzly bear . . . Gradually, Anna realizes that this is a voyage of discovery into her own self, her own silent pain – and into the tangled history that she and Kat share. What is love? What is sexual identity? And how do you find a way forward into a new future – a way to declare openly and without fear all that lies within you? 

From Talia:  I love a good road trip!  And one that explores the mysteries of God, self and sexual identity?  Um, yes!

There are more, many more, books I'd love to recommend.  I have over 100 Apocalypsies books on my TBR list this year.  You can check them all out here. 

 Our GIVEAWAY continues! Click on the "Read More" link below to find the Rafflecopter form and enter our latest contest! We are giving away a signed ARC (Advance Readers Copy) of Peter Abrahams' new middle grade mystery, Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street. The contest runs January 16-23. And come back tomorrow, January 18 to read our interview with him in the Interrogation Room!

Writing DNA #6

For our Writing DNA this week, we thought we would share our writing resolutions for the new year.

Elisa Ludwig: While there are certainly some more concrete goals I could set for myself in terms of page counts or drafts finished, my major writing task for 2012 is to stay calm. As I spend more time and emotional energy on fiction, I'm starting to see some obvious patterns emerging. Every day of easy, flowing writing is followed by a day where things get jammed up, and then the cycle repeats. The mood swing concluding "this sucks. I suck." usually swings right back into the other direction with thoughts like "Damn, I'm good." My point is that it's very easy to get caught up in all the little shifts that happen. But one day's work will not make or break the WIP and it certainly won't make me either a genius or a failure. So this year I'm going to try my hardest to just stick with whatever I'm working on, keep it all in perspective and have fun.

Laura Ellen: My biggest writing resolution for the new year is to WRITE. I find myself stressing about too many other things -- blog posts, marketing, press kits, my website -- and by the time I get to my Work In Progress, I'm burnt out. So this year I am going to put my WIP first each day. Regardless of what else is on my plate for the day, I am going to make myself work at least one hour on it first and then tackle the rest!

Kristen Kittscher: My writing resolution for 2012 is to be kinder to my works-in-progress. While a healthy dose of self-criticism can be helpful when revising, I have a tendency to belittle my own work and never be satisfied with the results. Recently, when I was (yet again) complaining about a manuscript's various flaws, a writing friend stopped me and said, "Shhh! Your book can hear you!" It was a healthy reminder that my negative thoughts do much more harm than good. There's no point in sapping all the fun out of the process by beating myself up over shortcomings, so I'm going to do my best to be more respectful of my own writing in 2012.

Diana Renn: I have many writing resolutions for 2012, which echo those of my fellow sleuths above. Finding -- no, making -- more time to write is a huge priority for me as well. My number one priority is to get out of my house to work, four days a week. My productivity soars when I meet my writing buddy at our local library. The house is simply too filled with distractions, including telemarketers, clutter calling out to be organized, and various appliances falling apart. And while there is wi-fi at the library, I'm too embarrassed, in the public reading room, to jump onto Facebook or other distractions, or to get sucked into endless research. So I resolve to go out into the world, into my psuedo-workplace, and treat my writing as the daily job that it is.