Please welcome our guests of honor!
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Lenore Appelhans moved frequently growing up due to her dad’s US Air Force career. To date, she’s lived in six countries and visited nearly sixty. She currently resides in Frankfurt, Germany, with her illustrator husband Daniel Jennewein. Level 2, coming from Simon & Schuster BFYR on January 15, 2013, is her first novel. Visit her at PresentingLenore.blogspot.com, where she has been blogging about YA lit since 2008.
Phoebe North lives in New York State with her husband and a very spoiled tabby cat. Her first novel, STARGLASS, an epic sci-fi story of rebellion and revenge, will be published by Simon & Schuster BFYR in Summer of 2013. Visit her review blog at www.intergalatic-academy.net, and her website at www.phoebenorth.com.
Lenore is giving away a first chapter or 5K critique!! Phoebe is giving away a query letter critique!! Comment on this post to enter!
Did you like this post? Show Lenore and Phoebe by buying their books! All of our authors are donating their time and experience FOR FREE, and the best way to show your appreciation is to buy their books.
Pre-order now!
LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans: Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow prisoners, Felicia passes the endless hours downloading memories and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and the boy she loved, Neil.
Then a girl in a neighboring chamber disappears, and nobody but Felicia seems to recall she existed in the first place. Something is obviously very wrong. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, she learns the truth: a rebellion is brewing to overthrow the Morati, the guardians of Level 2.
Felicia is reluctant to trust Julian, but then he promises what she wants the most—to be with Neil again—if only she’ll join the rebels. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself in the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.
Coming January 15, 2013.
STARGLASS by Phoebe North: My darling daughter,
Know that I never would have left the Earth if it hadn’t already been doomed. . .
The generation ship Asherah coasts through space, bound for a planet its passengers have never even seen. On the eve of their arrival, sixteen-year-old botanist Terra discovers that her orderly society has fractured. Walking home one night through the long-abandoned engine rooms, she witnesses the murder of an innocent man. Now, called on by the Children of Abel, a group of rebels intent on destroying the High Council, Terra must prove her mettle–assassinate the ship’s rising captain. In order to carry out her task, Terra must betray her father, deceive her teacher, and challenge everything the Council has ever taught her was true.
The rebels think that Terra has nothing left to lose. But when she falls for Silvan Rafferty, the boy that she’s meant to kill, Terra learns that “doing your duty” isn’t always as easy as it seems.
Coming Summer 2013.
Thank you for the part about insta love. That’s an instant turn off for me.
I haven’t been reading book blogs, because as soon as I read about a book, I often have to buy it. Great for the author. Not so great for my TBR pile. I’m going to start reading them again, but with a different goal from now on. Thanks for the suggestion.
Patricia – Great to see you here! In your case, it sounds like the silver eyes are legit and that you are actually subverting the “emerald eyes” trope by having the unusual eye color give your love interest an edge instead of it just being window dressing.
Love the video! Your books aren’t coming out for so long! Nooo! =D Can’t wait to read them next year!
Jeannette – Obviously I can’t judge without reading it, but my advice is to make sure you present their rivalry in a non-judgmental/non-preachy way. Teens definitely do insult each other IRL and this can be a great source of friction when done right. If you haven’t already, check out Courtney Summers books (like SOME GIRLS ARE) for examples of where I think the frenemy trope really works.
One of the things I really liked about this post was that I learned not only about the subject matter but I also learned a lot from your author bio’s. You both have lived life to fullest. It inspired me to do so as well. Thank you!
Thanks for the tips, ladies! The one that annoys me the most when I read it is the character looking into the mirror and describing what she/he sees. I do need to go back to a MS and make sure there is enough tension in my love story, because I might be bordering on insta-love…oops!
Thanks for the list!
Great tips ladies! What I find most annoying in YA fiction is your #5: “Amazing eyes/incredible beauty”. Also when authors describe the MC love interest as “hot”, whatever that means. I really try to avoid that in my own writing…!
Good tips! I agree with the insta-love and “emerald eyes” dislike. My current protagonist is brown-skinned, facially disfigured, and utterly unremarkable in terms of eye color–and she’s awesome. Hoorah.
Thanks so much for posting this – what a great topic! I really enjoyed it.
These are some great tips! The “too stupid to live” character made me laugh–so true.
Awesome vlog. These are so true! I feel like these pet peeves could also be applied to film. Great job.
Thanks for the tips, I know I’m guilty of one… ack. Revision time!
Great vlog, ladies! There’s so much to learn from book bloggers…
And oooh critiques up for grabs! *crosses fingers*
Nice vlog and good tips!
Thank you!
Great vlog – and your tips were right on the money! If I have to read one more “her eyes were the color of shimmering emeralds in the moonlight” I’ll scream.
Thank you for participating this year ladies! I sent this link to my crit group.
How about the ‘X is hot’ catch all. In dialogue okay, but in narrative it’s like ‘I know our tastes differ so just trust me on this’
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I’ll be sure to stop by your blogs now, too!
Have to say, I love the PresntingLenore blog. Have been reading it for a while now. Thank you both for vlogging and sharing the great tips.
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Great tips! I love the video.
Btw, I would love to win either of these awesome prizes!
Thank you both for the great tips!
Awesome to know that having a book blog instead of a writing blog can really pay off! That’s definitely lifted my mood. Thanks, guys!
Thank you so much, ladies! Great tips!
Thanks for the post and the giveaway!
Hahhahaaha, your fellow blogger agrees!
Thank you both for your advice. I’m going to come back and watch it again… just like a favorite film. I feel like there will be something else to catch the second time around!
Man, I have a lot to learn. Good thing I heard about stopping by here. Thank you ladies.
Sweet vid! I love you guys. Phoebe’s Goodreads reviews are my fave.
Very cool! Thanks for volunteering your time and sharing knowledge with us. =)
Had to laugh–I recognize a few of these from my early writing days!
What a great perspective to get the pet peeves of book bloggers from people who are also writers. I have to shamefacedly admit my MC’s love interest has stunning eyes. Oops!
Thank you for sharing your perspectives!
Amazingly helpful. Thank you both!
Great vlog! So agree with these pet peeves especially Insta-love and too stupid to live characters. There have been many times when I’m shouting at a horror film and screaming at the characters. Why do they have to run upstairs or read the latin? *face palm*
One of my pet peeves is the way friendship is conveyed in YA. Most of the time the heroine always seems to have fake friends who she doesn’t even like and vice versa. Or she’s a loner and treats her friends like they’re nothing. I’ve had my share of crappy friends but I also have some really genuine friends who mean the world to me. I’d love to see more solid friendships in YA. Friends who truely care for another and stick with each other, even when things are tough. Like Harry, Hermione, and Ron or Buffy, Xander, and Willow. That last episode of series 7 when they hold hands before the battle still has me tearing up to this day.
Thanks for all the tips!
I loved these six tips. Most of us had made these mistakes in our earliest novels. These are great things to steer away from. Thanks ladies!
I have been blogging a loooong time and really enjoyed your presentation. I must admit, though, we do info dump at dinner at our house.