The Best Reader [Search results for Graphia] 

For the third year in a row I am participating in the Crossroads blog tour! This tour will feature 13 outstanding authors and people who follow along with the tour will have a chance to win a KINDLE. The kindle will be preloaded with a title from each author!

To be entered, your readers MUST complete all the research questions (a new one will be posted each day) and email their answers to judithgraveswrites@gmail.com by midnight on October 30th — correct entries will go into a draw for the grand prize.

You can find more details here.

Twitter chat will be: Monday the 29th from 8-9 CST / 9-10 EST. Hosted by Mundie Moms
PARTICIPATING AUTHORS
Judith Graves – Leap Books – Under My Skin, Second Skin, Skin of My Teeth, Killer’s Instinct

Joy Preble – Sourcebooks – Dreaming Anastasia, Haunted, Anastasia Forever. Soho Press (forthcoming May 2013) – The Sweet Dead Life

Stacey Kade – Hyperion – The Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, Body & Soul

Amanda Ashby – Speak – You Had Me at Halo, Zombie Queen of Newbury High, Fairy Bad Day, Demonosity

Lucienne Diver – Flux – Vamped, Revamped, Fangtasic, Fangtabulous

Kiki Hamilton – Teen / Macmillian – The Faerie Ring, The Torn Wing

Jackie Morse Kessler – Harcourt Graphia – Hunger, Rage, Loss

Christine Fonseca – Compass Press – Transcend, Libera Me

Carrie Harris – Delacorte Books for Young Readers -Taste In Boys, Bad Hair Day

Dawn Dalton – Leap Books — SPIRITED Anthology, Killer’s Instinct

Leanna Renee Hieber — Sourcebooks – Darker Still (Magic Most Foul, #1), The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart (Magic Most Foul, #2)

Ty Drago — Sourcebooks – The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses, The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead

Janet Fox – Speak – Faithful, Forgiven, Sirens
______

PARTICIPATING BOOK BLOGGERS: Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It’s Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

The tour Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Crossroads-Blog-Tour/218310244897337?ref=hl And Twitter account: @TheCrossroadsBT

1. Hunger involves a very emotional topic, anorexia. Was this story difficult to write?

Actually, it was very cathartic. I used to be bulimic, and even though I haven’t been in many, many years, tapping into that Thin Voice was very easy to do—I guess it never really goes away. Even the raw parts of the book—the bathroom scene, for one; the bulimic scene, for another—were freeing. Getting the words out didn’t just feel good. It felt right.

2. How did the idea for this book, and series, evolve?
I had the idea for HUNGER for a long time—about 10 years. But I’d convinced myself that no one would want to read it, so I didn’t write it. And then, in October 2008, when I mentioned to my agent that my goal was to become a big enough name so that I could write the book I really wanted to write, she asked what book that would be. So I pitched HUNGER. And she said to me, “Why haven’t you written this book yet???” Basically, with her blessing, I wrote the book. And once it was on submission, my agent said to me, “So which Horseman are you writing about next?” And that’s when the idea for RAGE began to percolate.
3. What has been the most surprising part of being a debut YA author and promoting Hunger?
The teen market is very different than the adult market—and in great ways! It’s exciting to see librarians and booksellers and educators so active in the publishing community.
Separately, the best writing advice I’ve gotten from a teen reader is “Don’t sugar coat things for us; we want the truth.” That’s brilliant and amazing and fabulous to hear—and it makes me eager to keep writing for teens. Write truth!
4. Do you have any other projects you are currently working on?
I’m currently working on LOSS, the third book in the Riders’ Quartet. That book is about a bullied teenage boy who gets tricked into becoming Pestilence. Very different from both HUNGER and RAGE.

5. Can you tell us a little about the next book in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series, Rage?
RAGE is about a teen girl who self-injures, who becomes the new War. It’s the most difficult book I’ve ever written (including all my adult books), and I will donate a portion of proceeds to the nonprofit organization To Write Love On Her Arms.

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler Publisher: Harcourt Graphia (October 18th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Series: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, book #1 “Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

Find Jackie Morse Kessler Jackie Morse Kessler / Blog / Twitter

Purchase Hunger Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

The wonderful Jackie Morse Kessler is here today on her tour for LOSS, the upcoming book in her Riders of the Apocalypse series.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a Loss poster!

Loss if the third book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. How do you come up with your main characters? Do you have a certain image in mind or do you let them form as you go along?

JMK: I tend to have a basic idea when I start writing, and then the characters get fleshed out as I go. They reveal themselves to me gradually. With Billy, the protagonist of LOSS, it took longer than it did for either Lisa (from HUNGER) or Missy (from RAGE). Part of that might have been because Billy’s a guy, but I think most of it was because he has two consuming issues—he’s horribly bullied, and he’s a caretaker for his Alzheimer’s-suffering grandfather—whereas the protagonists of the earlier books had one consuming issue each (eating disorders in HUNGER; self-injury in RAGE).

If you were to see these characters come to life on the big screen, are there any particular people you would like to see as the actors?

JMK: Ooh. Well, Death looks, sounds and sings like Kurt Cobain, so if they ever make that biopic about him, whoever plays Kurt would be perfect. Or, you know, I’d settle for Matt Damon or Jared Padalecki, because I luv them. Deep luv. Much luv.: ) For the Conqueror, please, please, please, Robert Carlyle. So love him on Once Upon A Time! For everyone else, I’m very open.

Do you have a specific routine while writing or do you just wing it and see what happens?

JMK: There’s a lot of winging going on.: ) But when the words are flowing, everything else falls away. Which can be problematic when, say, dinner is in the oven. When I’m on deadline, I do my best to hit a specific wordcount goal for the day. There may be chocolate involved.

Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler
Publisher: Graphia (March 20th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Series: Riders of the Apocalypse #3

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors… and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories.

In his search, Billy travels through White Rider’s life: from ancient Phrygia, where the man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown, to Sherwood Forest, where Pestilence figures out how to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where cartons of infested grain are being packed onto a ship that will carry the plague, to the Children’s Crusade in France—all the way to what may be the end of the world. When Billy finally finds the White Rider, the teen convinces the man to return to the real world.

But now the insane White Rider plans to unleash something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Death look like a summer cold. Billy has a choice: he can live his life and pretend he doesn’t know what’s coming, or he can challenge the White Rider for his Crown. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
LOSS by Jackie Morse Kessler comes out March 20, 2012!

GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter below will win a small cover poster of LOSS —and will be entered in the grand prize drawing! The grand prize winner will receive signed copies of HUNGER, RAGE, and LOSS—and will get to name a character in BREATH, the fourth book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. The grand prize winner will be picked on Sunday, April 1, 2012. No foolin’.

Website | Blog | Twitter

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Just leave a comment below (WITH YOUR EMAIL) to be entered to win a LOSS poster!

I'm Marley Gibson, young adult author of the GHOST HUNTRESS series… and a ghost huntress myself. I didn't exactly plan on being a ghost huntress. You know, it's not one of those things you gaze up dreamily to your Mom and Dad and say you want to be when you grow up. There's no guidance counselor in school or college advisor to set you on your path to investigating the other side. However, when I came up with the idea for my GHOST HUNTRESS series, I knew that in order to do the subject justice, I had to reseach the field as much as possible and, in essence, become a ghost huntress myself. And I did. And the adventures began. When I speak to schools and libraries, kids want to know what the scariest thing is that I've seen. I have to admit that when I'm ghost hunting (which I never do alone), I'm not exactly scared when something happens. Afterall, we're *looking* for paranormal activity. What happens to me is overwhelming emotions overflowing into tears. Yes, I said it. I'm a girl… I cry when I experience something scary. LOL! I've heard disembodied voices (EVP or electronic voice phenomena) on my digital recorder, I'd heard doors close on their own and windows rattle when there's no wind, and I've witnessed poltergeist activity of a ball moving around on its own. But, the most amazing and hair-raising experiences I've had were when I saw my first"shadow person" (describe as dark human forms or evasive specters) and when I witnessed a full-bodied apparition (FBA in ghost hunting language). I was at Rolling Hills Sanitarium in Bethany, NY, at an event investigating with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson of SyFy's Ghost Hunters. Jason told me I needed to go down the tunnel in the basement to see the shadow people. I was a bit skeeved out over the prospect and he said to me,"But you're a ghost huntress." So, I bucked up and headed down the dark tunnel with a few people. And I was amazed to see shadow figures at the end of the long hallway moving between one examining room to the next. We walked down and look at the rooms and no one was in there; only the flood of light from the moon. I got the idea to wave at the shadow person, so I lifted my hands in a friendly gesture. No sooner had I lowered my hand then one of the shadow people waved back at me. I immediately broke out into chill bumps and started crying. At the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO (the hotel where Stephen King stayed when he got the idea for THE SHINING), I was at another event with more TV ghost hunters like Patrick Burns, Chris Fleming, John Zaffis, Chip Coffey, and Jay and Grant from Ghost Hunters. I was on the third floor with some of my friends and we were looking for a place to do an EVP session. We thought the hallway was unoccupied, but when we turned the corner, we saw the outline/shadow of a man standing at the end of the hall. I called out,"Sorry, we didn't know someone had already claimed this area." I shined the flashlight down the long hallway (with no exit) and there was… no one. I turned to my friends and asked,"Did you just see that?" They agreed. I said back,"Oh my God, I think I'm going to cry. I just saw my first full-bodied apparition." And I did cry. I don't know what I saw those two times… were they ghosts, demons, angels, spirits, aliens… what? All I do know was I can't explain it and it was both terrifying, sad, and sort of beautiful. But 'dems the ropes when you're a ghost huntress.

Ghost Huntress: The Counseling by Marley Gibson Publisher: Graphia (September 6th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 320 pages Series: Ghost Huntress, book #4 Kendall has just discovered who Emily really is, lost her boyfriend, and nearly died doing the thing she loves most--ghost hunting. It's time to take a break and try to reconcile all the changes she's going through. So Kendall heads to the Sierra Mountains, where there's a camp especially for young people with gifts such as hers. It's a time for reflection and self-discovery.

But when she gets to California, she once again finds restless spirits--and the boy in her last vision. It may be the end of one chapter of her life and the beginning of a new one.

- Marley- Thank you so much for participating and for the unbelievable book donation that helped us make our BIG giveaways HUGE!: ) You rock!
Find Marley Gibson Marley Gibson / Twitter / Goodreads / Ghost Huntress
Purchase books in the Ghost Huntress series Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository
* Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.