GCC Presents . . .Kelly Parra!!!

Hey Everyone-

I'm so excited to host double Rita nominee, author Kelly Parra, who I was lucky enough to meet at last summer's RWA conference, and let me tell you she's as nice as she is talented!

Her new book, INVISIBLE TOUCH, was just released by MTV Books and people are already raving about it!

Here's what they're saying:

A magical blending of mystery, romance, and deep and dangerous secrets. Kelly Parra’s Invisible Touch is an action-packed coming-of-age novel, sure to keep readers turning pages and begging for a sequel."-- Laurie Faria Stolarz, Bestselling author of Blue is for Nightmares and Deadly Little Secret

"Readers are going to delight in this fast-paced, gripping story, and be kept spellbound until its surprising finish." --Tina Ferraro, How To Hook A Hottie

"The Gold Award of Excellence! An amazing, touching novel that deals with big issues in an original context."--TeensReadToo

"Five out of five gold pens for Invisible Touch."- The Salinas Californian

Here's what it's about:

Do you believe in fate?

Kara Martinez has been trying to be "normal" ever since the accident that took her father's life when she was eleven years old. She's buried the caliente side of her Mexican heritage with her father and tried to be the girl her rigid mother wants her to be -- compliant and dressed in pink, and certainly not acting out like her older brother Jason. Not even Danielle, her best friend at Valdez High, has seen the real Kara; only those who read her anonymous blog know the deepest secrets of the Sign Seer.

Because Kara has a gift -- one that often feels like a curse. She sees signs, visions that are clues to a person's fate, if she can put together the pieces of the puzzle in time. So far, she's been able to solve the clues and avert disaster for those she's been warned about -- until she sees the flash of a gun on a fellow classmate, and the stakes are raised higher than ever before. Kara does her best to follow the signs, but it's her heart that wanders into new territory when she falls for a mysterious guy from the wrong side of town, taking her closer to answers she may not be able to handle. Will her forbidden romance help her solve the deadly puzzle before it's too late...or lead her even further into danger?

Here's the same 5 questions we always ask:

1. Every story has a backstory, what's the backstory for your book?

I've always believed in intuitive vibes and repetitive signs and
thought wouldn't it be cool to have a girl who really saw visions and
have to piece the signs together to help others? But not only that,
but this gift had to also be a curse and would a logical mother
believe her? And from there Kara was born in my mind with secrets
and pain and grief and romance.

2. What's your work environment like? Any rituals, totems, or must
haves?

My desk is usually a mess, and recently its been cleaned and
organized! I wonder how long it will stay this way. ;) I work a lot
better with organization. It's sort of silly, but I have this old
trophy from fifth grade that was given to me for "Outstanding Award
in Language Arts" and it sits atop my desk as a sort of symbol that
maybe I was meant to be a writer. :) :)

3. If you could live inside any book-- which would it be?

I think it would be really cool to live in J.D. Robb's Death series
world. Its one of my favorite series so of course I'd love to
explore it, but only for a short visit. I'm pretty happy with my world.

4. What book rocked your world growing up?

V.C. Andrew's Dollanganger series and the Castell series. I felt for
these characters that weren't really real, but they felt real to a
sixteen-year-old girl. :)

5. If you could visit any time, place, or person- what, where, or who
would it be?

My father passed away suddenly in my early twenties. I think I would
visit my dad one last time. :)


Also, if you haven't yet stopped by her blog-- run don't walk! She's hosting a Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza through the month of October, with 26 authors sharing secrets and giveaways on the Secret Fates blog. But hurry on over, the party ends on October 31^st!

About Kelly:

Kelly Parra is the author of Graffiti Girl, a double RITA nominee and a Latinidad Top Pick, and the contemporary paranormal, Invisible Touch. When not pulling her hair while writing her current novel, she likes to play with her abundance of websites and feed a serious television addiction. For excerpts visit, www.kellyparra.com or follow the Secret Fates blog at secretfates.blogspot.com.

Book Signing!!

Hey Everyone-

Just wanted you to know I'll be signing copies of my book this Thursday, October 23, 6:30 PM at:

Barnes & Noble
26751 Aliso Creek Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92625

And I hope to see you there!

Also, I just learned that CRUEL SUMMER was nominated for a CYBIL award, so I'm pretty psyched about that!!

And while the economy may be bad, the good news is, there's free books to be had! So if you haven't stopped by Jessica Brody's Free Book Friday, Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza, or Brooke Taylor's Monster Month of Giveaways (she's giving away my very last Advanced Reading Copy of EVERMORE!), all I can say is: what are you waiting for ???

Happy Tuesday!
A

Heavy Metal

What does sushi have to do with public humiliation? And why did I title this blog post HEAVY METAL?

For answers to those burning questions and more, come on over to the Teen Fiction Cafe by clicking HERE. We're talking about embarrassing moments this week and would love for YOU to join us!

Also, yesterday was an amazing day as I learned that the foreign rights to my upcoming books EVERMORE and BLUE MOON sold to Goldmann (a division of Random House!) in Germany --at auction!!!!!

Also, EVERMORE sold Spanish and Catalan rights to Mondadori!!

And I'm planning an exciting new website makeover to introduce the new series, the unveiling will take place sometime in Dec/Jan!

Speaking of EVERMORE . . .for your chance to win an Advanced Reading Copy stop by Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza look for my post and leave a message. Kelly's giving away a lot of great prizes so be sure to check them all out! All you have to do is click HERE.

Oh, and, it's not to late to vote for YALSA's Teen's Top Ten Award (SAVING ZOE is nominated!) just click HERE!

And don't miss the interview with Stacy DeKeyser on the previous post- her new book is amazing!!

That's it for now-- I'm off to Beckman High School in Irvine to talk to some students!

Be well!

Alyson
:-D

Keeps Gettin' Better!!

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another round of Jessica Brody's FREE BOOK FRIDAY!
This week she's featuring the awesome Lisa Lutz who's giving away a signed copy of her New York Times bestselling novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES, so be sure to go HERE for your chance to listen to the podcast interview and win a copy of this amazing book!



Also, talented debut author of UNDONE, Brooke Taylor, (who I was lucky enough to meet at the RWA national convention in San Franciso last summer and she totally rocks!) is holding a Monster Giveaway (seriously monster sized!) on her blog this month, with prizes so great you won't want to miss it! I'll be giving away a signed ARC of the first book in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE, at the end of the month, but trust me, you're going to want to head over there now for your chance to win the awesome, New York Times bestselling, HOUSE OF NIGHT series! Just. Click. HERE!

And, don't forget about the Secret Fates Blog contest that's also running all month in celebration of Kelly Parra's (who I also met at the RWA convention and she's sooo nice!) new release INVISIBLE TOUCH. Today, Erica Orloff (who writes one of the best blogs on writing- ever!) is not only spilling secrets but also giving away a copy of her YA hit, THE POKER DIARIES! I'll be giving away a signed copy of EVERMORE this month too, and since I'm running pretty short on copies, this maybe your only chance (other than Brooke's giveaway) to get a first look, so don't miss it! Go HERE now!


And did anyone watch THE EX LIST last night? I did, right after GHOST WHISPERER, it's kind of a MY NAME IS EARL (mostly because of the list) meets SEX AND THE CITY (mostly because of the dating--only it takes place in L.A.) hybrid. If you didn't see it, it's about a girl who goes to a psychic and learns that she has one year to get married (or it will never happen) and that her soul mate is someone she's already dated. So I'm guessing each show will be about her going through her (long) list of exes, trying to figure out who it could be. And while it got me thinking about my own list of exes (not that long-- I swear!), it also reminded me of the time I went to a psychic with a friend who predicted my future husband to a T. Seriously. All the way down to his education, birth place, astrological sign, etc. The reading took place eight years before he would come into my life (which she also predicted!) and it seemed so crazy at the time I put it right out of my mind- until the night we met, (yup, 8 full years later), and it went just as she said . . .

So, in celebration of all things paranormal, Halloween, and THE EX-LIST, tell me:
Have you ever been to a psychic--and did any of the predictions come true?

Speaking of Books . . .

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of books this week, including:

It's Cybils time again! That's right, nominations for the Children's & Young Adult Blogger's Literary Awards are open for nominations! To nominate your favorite book, just visit HERE and leave the title in the comments section--it's so easy!


Also, the Leave a Mark auction has begun! This is the one where various authors (including moi), mark up one of their books (thereby turning it into a sort of director's cut edition!), and auction it off to benefit First Book, a wonderful charity providing books for the needy! This amazing idea was the brainchild of Lauren over at Shooting Stars Magazine and Chelsea at The Page Flipper. They'll be auctioning off a different title every few days (including my marked up version of SAVING ZOE- though I'm not sure which day it will run so check back!), and all you have to do to participate is click HERE!

And, as it that wasn't enough, today also marks the start of Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza! In celebration of her latest release, INVISIBLE TOUCH, from now til the end of the month, she'll be featuring various authors spilling secrets and giving away prizes and you won't want to miss it! I'll be giving away a rare (um, rare because I'm running out of copies!) ARC of the fist title in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE!! But since I'm not sure which day I'm up--you should probably visit everyday since there's loads of good stuff you're going to want! And all you have to do to win, win, win--is just click HERE!

That's it for now-- Happy October Everyone!

Entourage is back!

Last night was a great night.

Not just because I got to stay home and get reacquainted with my couch after a weekend of running around including my BFF's community gala on Saturday night-- but also because it just so happened to mark one of my favorite things:

The season premiere of ENTOURAGE!!!!!!!!!

It also introduced me to one of my new fave things:

The premiere of True Blood.

For me, ENTOURAGE is a no brainer. Hollywood + Hi jinks + Hottie cast= 30 minutes of Hi-larious fun!

As for True Blood, other than a passing reference over a year ago by my hair stylist, I was completely unfamiliar with Charlaine Harris' vampire series. But when I learned that Alan Ball, genius writer of my all time fave movie, AMERICAN BEAUTY, and producer of one of my all time fave shows, SIX FEET UNDER, was once again, at the helm- I knew I had to watch--and I'm so glad I did. It's dark, campy, and fun, and I can't wait to see where they go with it!

Though I have to admit, the second Sookie started hearing everyone's thoughts but the vampire's, I looked at my husband, and he looked at me, and at the exact same time we said:

Oh my gawd! (okay, the OMG part was just me, but what follows was in unison, I swear)
That's just like Ever and Damen in EVERMORE!

Because just like Sookie, Ever (the EVERMORE protagonist), hears thoughts. But she also sees auras, gets life stories by touch, and talks to the dead. And speaking of EVERMORE, I just received a few ARCs the other day, and this is what the back cover copy says:

Since the horrible accident that claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year old Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story just by touch. Going out of her way to suppress her abilities has branded her a freak at her new high school--but everything changes when she meets Damen . . .

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. The problem: She doesn't know who he really is--or what he is.

The awesome Kelly Parra is running a contest in October, to celebrate the release of her own paranormal tale, INVISIBLE TOUCH. So be sure to stop by her secret fates blog for your chance to win an advanced reading copy of EVERMORE among many other cool prizes!

So what about you? Which TV shows are you looking forward to?

Desert Daze

If you're anywhere near the Coachella Valley and  interested in picking up a signed copy of one of my books, then stop by the Border's in The River a beautiful outdoor shopping center in Rancho Mirage. 

I dropped by yesterday to browse the stacks and sign stock, and just happened to notice that CRUEL SUMMER, which came out in June, has gone into another printing!!  And SAVING ZOE, which was released a year ago next month, is in it's fifth! And since YOU are directly responsible for that I just wanted to say:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, the EVERMORE galleys arrived the other day, and they're gorgeous!!  And while I don't have many to spare, I will be giving one away on Kelly Parra's Secret Fates blog contest, which was recently moved to October. So keep an eye out for that!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!