Most Anticipated Fall Books

With all these amazing books coming out this summer, it's hard to think about the fall already. Though I must admit, with fall comes two of the most anticipated books (at least for me).

I cannot wait. I repeat, CANNOT wait for the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone:

When I first started reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I was like "I'm not sure where this is going, but I love it!" Karou is such a unique MC with amazing abilities, surrounded by fascinating characters. The odd, and at times disturbing, tasks she is given by her creature-like protector make for a very interesting journey. And even though her "family" are very strange inhuman characters, you can't help but love them. For me, the relationship with Akiva is one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking stories. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a truly magical novel, and I'm so looking forward to what happens next in DAYS OF BLOOD & STARLIGHT. Due out November 6th, 2012.

Book number 2 of most anticipated fall novels is:

 One word: Noah. Can I get an Amen? If you've read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. Potty mouth, bad ass, and that accent. God, that accent. Thank you, Michelle Hodkin, for creating such a jaw dropping character. Now, I can talk about how absolutely gorgeous this fictional character is forever, but I digress. The mystery held through the story had me at the edge of my seat. I was dying to know exactly how Mara got where she was, and the backstory had me creeped out in a really good way! Strange things are happening around Mara––deadly things. You want to know more about the surrounding characters and what they have to do with all of it. There's an amazing twist at the end that I think everyone will appreciate. It strengthens the chemistry between Mara and Noah, which I love! The abrupt ending had me saying "NOOOO!" Cause I *needed* to know what happened next. Well guess what? Now I will in THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER. Due out October 23rd, 2012.

Question is: What books are you anticipating for the fall?

Tips On Writing YA

Hey everyone! Check out my recent guest post over at Luke Wortley's blog!

  Young YA Writers' Most Valuable Tools

Thanks for inviting me, Luke!

Giveaway at 500!

Thank you all so much for helping me hit this milestone! 500 followers on Twitter is a pretty big deal, and I wanted to celebrate with you by giving away ONE $50 Gift Certificate for Amazon to ONE lucky winner. How about that for a giveaway? As you all know, I'm a YA writer who eats up the genre by reading as many books as possible. I wanted to inspire others by presenting this card as a means to buy some awesome books by some amazing authors.

How do you enter? The Rafflecopter below will explain all the ways you can enter to win. The contest is open until July 2nd. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Reads

Don't you love finding out what other people are reading? It helps me build my TBR list. I just finished reading: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore, and Struck by Jennifer Bosworth.

All so very different, but oh so amazing.
I also picked up Timepiece by Myra McEntire, as well as Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves.

I love meet ups with my local writer friends, because they always let me borrow all these wonderful books. Not to mention, having a Kindle gives me to the power to spend, spend, spend. I really should buy more books from a bookstore. Nothing beats that.

So the question is, my dear friends: What are YOU reading this summer?

Hey, blog! Remember me?

Once again, it's been too long. I've been working diligently on my WIP. Hit 43K earlier today. I always love when I start working on something different from my usual. I've been pushing myself a lot lately in that sense. When I first started writing it was all about fantasy, someone with a super power of sorts. I realized shortly after my third manuscript that it just wasn't cutting it. I had to step out of the box. It's proven to be a good thing now that DROWNING BAILEY is out in the world.

I don't have anything super exciting to tell you yet, but you can bet that when I do, I'll be blasting it all over the blog and Twitter. So many amazing online friends have been signing with agents, and it makes me so unbelievably excited! I am so, so happy for them, and they've worked so hard. The writing world is a wonderful thing to be apart of.

On my breaks from writing, I've been reading a few things as usual. Something I couldn't wait to read was ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD. See, I had to wait to read it because of the fact that it's a ghost story, which is what I was writing with DB. I didn't want any outside influences. Now that I've read it, I can tell you it is seriously flipping awesome!

I'm gonna attempt to jump back into the WIP, but I'll most likely end up watching more X-Files. If you haven't yet, you should follow me on Twitter! xheatherxmariex