Announcement: *Another* Another Faust Contest (Guest Post from Daniel Nayeri)

Hello everyone,

Hope you don't mind the brief interruption of my regular posting for a post from author Daniel Nayeri, who is the co-author of the book Another Faust. This sounds like a really fun contest and I wanted to share the news with all of you. So without further ado here is Daniel to tell you the details.

~Irish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi everyone. Dina and I are about to kick off a month-long tour for our book, Another Faust, and we want to do it by announcing a contest! We are looking for the most promising writers out there (that’s YOU). And then we want to showcase their work, so that all of the Internet can bask in their awesome writing might (and, you know, give them prizes).

HERE’S HOW IT GOES.

We want you to write your own short story, re-imagining of the Faustian Bargain. (For inspiration, check out Bedazzled, Simpsons “Tree House of Horrors IV,” and The Little Mermaid). It can be about anything you like (but let’s keep it PG-13, and under 3,000 words), and it’s open to everyone.

All you have to do is send your entry to dviergutz@gmail.com before January 31.

Rules and details can be found here. (Make sure to read them so you don’t get DQed)

And the winner gets all kinds of sweetness:

• A signed copy of Another Faust
• A handwritten deleted scene
• A featured article & interview on our site
• An author’s galley of the sequel Another Pan

Though we’ll feature the top five on our site for comments, the judging WON’T happen by popular vote (so basically, we don't care which contestant has the most friends). Dina and I will personally read them.

So, spread the word! Tweet, retweet, forward, thread, spread, embed this post.

Good luck!

D&D

Book Trailer Monday (6): Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

There are some book trailers that will make you cringe and some that leave you feeling blah. Some will make you want to run out and buy the book and still others will make you want to avoid a book at all costs. And then there are trailers that will make you laugh as this one for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters does for me. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters is the latest publication of Quirk Books and was released in stores on 15 September 2009.

Now that you've seen it, what do you think of this trailer? Does it make you laugh as well? LMK in the comments below.

Bite Me by Parker Blue

Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Publication Date: 30 Sept 2008
ISBN: 0980245389 (paperback)
Format: ebook
Pages: 232
Websites:
Parker Blue (Official Site)

Place(s) Traveled to:
San Antonio, Texas

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

Bite Me Young Adult Vampire Hunter A Fictionwise Fantasy Bestseller An edgy book for teens that spans the gap between YA and adult fiction. Life after high school is tough enough without having to go 15 rounds with your inner demon. Val Shapiro is just your ordinary, part-demon, teenaged vampire hunter with a Texas drawl. And a pet hellhound named Fang. Soon enough she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.

When I first picked up Bite Me by Parker Blue I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Would it be another run of the mill vampire story? Or would there be something new in it? My very first impression wasn't a good one when in the first chapter I was jarred out of the false reality of the book when the main character, Val, gave her name to a vampire she was trying to kill. A vampire who didn't know her and yet immediately jumped to the fact that her name was Valentine. Now I don't know about you but my first thought when hearing the name Val isn't Valentine. But I shook that off, I shouldn't focus on such a minor detail I should just let the story come. And come it did. I whizzed through this book in about a day. I loved the world that Parker has created.

The main character isn't a know it all teenager with special skills who is near perfect and is able to save the world in a single bound. Val is older then in most young adult books, she's 18 and was home schooled because she harbors an inner demon, literally. This sets her apart from other people her age as well as her family. And it doesn't help that on her 18th birthday she finds herself without a job, without a home and without a family to help her figure things out. She is lost and clueless and that just makes her so very real. Val's half sister is also a character to like...well, one that you like to dislike because she's a real teen. She's a 16 year old girl who thinks she knows everything and like most little sisters she is annoying and gets into trouble. But the character that makes this book is Fang. He tends to steal the scene and add a dose of comedy in with all the life drama and vampire slaying.

As I've said I love the world that Blue has created, but this is a first book in a series by a new author so its flawed. There were several times when random scenes would knock me out of the false reality and make me go huh? Forcing me to reread passages in order to try and figure out if I missed something or if an event/statement really did just come out of nowhere. But it wasn't so flawed that I was turned off. In fact I am really excited for the second book, Try Me, to come out. Though very sad that it won't be until February!! But to tide me over I was sent the cover over Try Me and I am able to share it with you:


No word yet on what this book is about but isn't the cover amazing? I love how similar it is to the Bite Me and I can't wait until I am able to bring this book home with me.

Book Trailer Monday (5): Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong

For me, the sign of a good book trailer is one that makes you interested in a book. The sign of a great trailer is where after watching it you just want to run right out and get the book because you can't wait to read it. Today's trailer is one that I would call great. I first saw the Escaping the Tiger trailer when the author, Laura Manivong, left me a link to it on last weeks Book Trailer Monday. Laura is a Tenner and I'd read the description of her book and marked as something to look into when its released on 09 Mar 2010 by HarperCollins. But now I really wish that I had a contact at HarperCollins so that I could beg them for an ARC!



So what do you think? Does this trailer make Escaping the Tiger appealing to you? What book trailers have you seen recently that make you more interested in buying the book?

Book Trailer Monday (4): A Most Improper Magik by Stephanie Burgis

If you've been a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I once had a Waiting on Wednesday post for Stephanie Burgis's A Most Improper Magick. So you can imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across the book trailer on YouTube. I love this trailer. Because it combines a book I can't wait for with old movies....and I LOVE LOVE LOVE old movies! A Most Improper Magik is due to be release by Atheneum on 20 April 2010.