And The Winners Are...

Thank you so much for everyone who participated in the YAlicious Christmas Giveaway. It was so awesome to see people checking out our site. We really hope you can benefit from our future posts as we introduce you to amazing authors, reviewers and YA books and movies.

Thank you also to the authors who participated in this giveaway. Your generosity is much appreciated :) You are all amazing people and we have so loved having on YAlicious.

And now for the winners....

Congratulations to:

1st Prize Winner - Lindsey C.
2nd Prize Winner - Grace
3rd Prize Winner - Len P.
4th Prize Winner - Alyssa

The authors will be contacting you within the week with digital copies of their books for you to enjoy.
Happy reading!

We hope all of you have a fantastic New Year and we look forward to seeing you again in 2013 :)

It's A Time For Giving! YAlicious Christmas Giveaway

What better way to end 2012 then to have a giveaway!

We thought it would be a great chance to celebrate a few awesome-sauce things...

1. Christmas!!!
2. Our YAlicious revamp :o)
3. The amazing guest authors we've had featured on YAlicious this year.

We are really happy with how our "new" blog is going. It's super fun having all these cool people join us to tell us about their writing and reading. 2013 looks to be an awesome year with plenty more guests lined up and hopefully some new features.

I would like to thank all the authors who have contributed to this giveaway. It's been so cool having you on the blog and we so appreciate your generosity.

There are four e-book prize packs up for grabs and they are all filled with amazing reads by a bunch of authors I really admire - Patti Larsen, Brenda Howson, Suzy Turner, Heather Marie Adkins, Julia Crane, C. M. Keller, Tara West, J. J. Bonds and T. G. Ayer.

The giveaway will be running over the Christmas period. We will be back on December 31st to announce the winners. Good luck and we hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Reading - What Books Are On Your List?

I am the sort of person that saves books up when I know I'm going away on holiday. I have a few little gold nuggets stashed away so that when I leave on my break I can pull them out and lose myself in a book or two as life slows down for just a moment.

We are now home in New Zealand for Christmas and I have my Kindle loaded up.

I have finished reading Dare by Taylor Longford, so her next book Reason (just released!!!!) is the first book on my list.

I am also doing a critique read for my awesome friend, T. G. Ayer. It is the first book in a new series. I am half way through the book and really enjoying it.

Next on the list is a book by a favourite author of mine - Dee Henderson. I haven't read anything from her in ages and I noticed a few months ago that she has a new release - Full Disclosure, so I've added that to my list.

I'm pretty sure that's all I'll have time for, but if I can squeeze in another read, it will be Protected by Cindy M. Hogan. I read her first book, Watched, a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to book 2 in the series.

What are you planning on reading over your Christmas break?

Work In Progress Update - Unknown by Melissa Pearl

Another feature we want to introduce at YAlicious is a Work In Progress Update. I love finding out what different authors are working on. It's fun to keep track of their progress and see a book come to fruition.

So I thought I'd start things off with my current WIP - Unknown.

This is the first book in the Elements Trilogy and I am hoping to publish all three books in 2013. At this stage I am aiming for a June release for Book 1 - Unknown.

Unknown is a YA fantasy romance filled with mystery and action. A prophecy discovered years ago is brought to life when a star in the north falls to the earth. As people struggle with their differing beliefs and whether or not to trust this ancient prophecy, two seekers are sent on a quest. Following the prophecy's instructions they head out to discover the four elements who can unleash a powerful light that can save their world from the brewing darkness. These young seekers - Kyla and Jethro - have a mammoth task ahead of them and the question is not just if they can complete their mission, but if they can do it without killing each other.

I have never written anything like this and I am having so much fun with it. I have to admit I am finding it a huge challenge... hopefully I can pull this off :D

On Sunday I finished the first draft and am now doing my first full read through. Once I've completed that I will be sending it off to my critique partners for some very honest feedback. I feel like this project has a lot of potential, so I'm asking them to be brutally honest. I want these books to shine :D

Once Unknown is off for inspection, I will start working on a detailed plan for Book 2 - Unseen. I have mapped out the entire trilogy, but new things present themselves as I write, so I will be tweaking accordingly then launching into the first draft.

The photo shoot for all three covers has been completed and my graphic designer will be working on the covers over the next couple of months. The ideas we have come up with are pretty awesome, so I can't WAIT to see what she puts together. She's a super talent so I'm pretty excited :)

If you'd like to be a part of this project, I'd love to have you enter the Name That Troll competition. You can find out details by signing up for my monthly updates newsletter here.

So - that's what I'm working on.
How about you?

If you are an author and you'd be keen to share your WIP with us, please contact me. You can message me on my FB page: http://www.facebook.com/melissapearlauthor or leave a comment below.

A Chat With Tamara Beard

I think book bloggers and reviewers are amazing. They help put us indie authors on the map and I think they need to be applauded, hugged and praised for their efforts. That is why we have decided to start interviewing them on YAlicious. We thought you might want to get to know these amazing people a little better.

Today we have Tamara Beard with us. Now this chick seriously rocks. She is always out to promote indie authors. She is kind, sweet and her enthusiasm for books is contagious. It was our absolute pleasure to interview her.

Welcome to YAlicious, Tamara :)

When did you first discover your love for reading?

*snorts a laugh* Honestly? I think I fell in love with reading that very first time I read a word back in Kindergarten. I’ve been reading my entire life, and plan on reading for the rest of it.

What were your favourite types of books as a kid?

Depends what age we’re talking about. Some of my all time favorites growing up were the Magic Tree House books, The Magic School Bus books, and, of course, Dr. Seuss. One of my all time favorites was Bears in the Night. I loved that book more than anything.

What is your favourite genre now and why do you like?

Contemporary New Adult Romance J To explain why I like it, let me break it down. I like contemporary romance because it is believable. I can really see it, hear it… feel it. Whereas most sci-fi, paranormal, and fantasy books have to be extremely detailed and well written for me to truly get sucked into believing the world around me in the book. I like the New Adult genre because it is more detailed then a simple ‘peck on the lips’, like YA novels, but it isn’t as… ‘squirm inducing’ as Adult and Erotica.

What kinds of book covers draw you in?

You know, I hate to say it, but covers have a lot of weight in my sway of buying a book or not. You know that saying “never judge a book by its cover”? Yea, well, guilty as charged! I just… I buy so many books, and read so much, they begin to blur together. With work, and school, I barely have time to sleep, let alone read every book description. So when I am running through my ‘tbr’ lists on Goodreads, or looking at the Indie books on Amazon, I go with the intriguing covers. The covers that I am drawn to are those with contrasts in color, extremely bright or extremely dark shades, and where you can easily pick out a theme from the picture on the cover.

What do you look for in a book description?

For me, a book description is extremely important as well. If a cover draws me in, the next thin I look at is the description. The description has to be unique, and show the potential that the book contains. It has to show the emotion, suspense, action, or romance contained in the story, so that my curiosity is piqued. One type of description that, if I see, I most likely will not buy the book, is when they have reviews, instead of the synopsis. To me, this gives off that the book doesn’t have enough potential to be shown in a paragraph or two, so they took the good reviews, and tried to lure readers in that way.

What do you like most about reviewing books for authors?

In general, my favorite thing about working for authors, including reviewing books, is the smile on their face, or the happiness expressed in a message, when I’m done. Even if it is a low star rating, I try to be positive, and always make sure the author knows how I think they can improve. So… whether I see their face, or read their words, when an expression of happiness from an Indie is put in my path, it makes all the late nights, frustrated screams, and stressed out moments worth it.

Do you find it easy to picture characters and settings in your head? How descriptive do you like an author to be?

Well, I’m actually a really unique reader I’m told, because when I read, I don’t… see the words? It’s like… My brain processes the words, but instead of seeing my kindle in front of m eyes, I see what I’m reading, and I don’t even mean like a movie… It’ like.. I’m there, ya know? The best way I can describe it is like I’m a ghost, invisible and floating, in the world I’m reading. Because of this, most of my favorite books are highly descriptive when it comes to characters, settings, and scenes in general.

A REVEIWER'S RECOMMENDATIONS

A traditionally published author you love: Molly McAdams (I don’t read traditionally published books. Being ‘The Indie Helper’, I try to help Indies as much as I can, that includes only reading their stuff. However, Molly is definitely an exception!)

And indie author you love: Shelly Crane!!! (Biggest Fan *points at self* right here!)

One of your favourite YA books: Unlikely Allies by Tiffany King =)

One of your favourite Adult books: (New Adult) Easy By Tammara Webber!!

A book you've read more than once and the reason why: I read Collide By Shelly Crane at least once a month. I just absolutely love the series, it is amazing! 

Great answers, Tamara. I love Bears in the Night too. I'm now reading it to my son. It's so cool!!

If you'd like to connect with Tamara, you can follow the links below:

Blog
Goodreads
Facebook

Book Highlight - Fresco by Patti Larsen

I was lucky enough to score a copy of Fresco in exchange for an honest review. If you'd like to read my thoughts, you can check out the review here... but in a nutshell - I loved the book. One of the best things about it though, was that it was written by an author I really look up to. I have been monitoring her progress since getting into the indie world and I am completely inspired by her. She is one of the indie authors I want to mirror my career on, so it is my absolute pleasure to have her visiting YAlicious today.

Patti is here to tell us how she first met Fresco - the MC of her Diamond City Trilogy. Welcome to YAlicious, Patti.

I teach a class called Get Your Book Done—not focused on how to write, but more so on how to structure writing. The breakdown of what makes a good story, how a book is built from the beginning of act one through the wrap up of act three. I adore teaching, sharing my method with anyone who wants to learn it.

Part of the process when I teach is walking my students through an idea for a book so they can see it evolve in front of them. While I was preparing one of my classes, I started that process myself as an exercise to remind myself what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

An image came to me, of a blonde young man in a denim jacket, standing in a back alley over a girl high on drugs. As he crouched over her, he told me his name was Fresco.

Yes, I hear voices. Crazy, I know. I know! Still. I had to listen. So, I took my own advice, pulled out a onepage, or breakdown sheet of the basic plot, and filled in what I knew.

From that came an amazing trilogy about love, loss, addiction and redemption told through Fresco’s eyes. I find it so amazing how ideas come, usually when I least expect, and take me along for such an emotional ride.

And while I had someone ask me once why I’d named him Fresco (with a wrinkle of her nose as though she disapproved), I smiled and told her I didn’t.

Fresco, like all of my characters, named himself.

When you read the book, you will soon see, that Fresco is the perfect name for the book and this character.

If you'd like to connect with Patti online, you can follow the links below:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

About the Author: Patti Larsen is an award-winning middle grade and young adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. Book one of that series, RUN, is a recent recipient of the 2012 PEI Book Awards for Fiction. Ten books of her very popular Hayle Coven Novels, beginning with Family Magic, are also out now. Her YA steampunk series, Blood and Gold, can be found on Amazon, along with her YA paranormal novel, Best Friends Forever, The Diamond City Trilogy and the Clone Chronicles. Her middle grade novel, The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House (Acorn Press), is available now. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.

Betwixt Blog Tour

I am VERY excited to have A Tale of Many Reviews hosting a blog tour for me.

There are so many amazing blogs involved... sharing reviews, guest posts, interviews and of course there are a couple of giveaways running as well.

I would LOVE for you to join me for the week to celebrate my new book, Betwixt.

Below is the tour schedule.

Have fun reading all the posts. Thanks so much for everyone's support. It is truly overwhelming :)