INAUGURATION BLITZ DAY SEVEN!

Right, so we're ending the second week of this gig, and we have to say--we're pretty stinking proud of our authors at this point. Last week we started an Inauguration Blitz—not annual, since this only happens once every four to eight years! Our … once-every-four-to-eight-years Inauguration Blitz, then. And this week we're finishing up, since we had so many authors involved that we couldn't fit them all in. We're focusing on government, how the country was born, presidential and congressional behavior and ethics, and—most importantly—the idea of revolution. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some of our favorite revolutionary characters for some down-and-dirty answers about their fights, who they’re fighting against, and when they know it's time to stand up and fight for the right side.

This week, we're focusing on some of our newer authors--and their main characters, who are fighting for their right to survive. Next up is JD Wilcox, who writes hard sci fi and space operas (as well as fairy tales, if the rumors are to be believed!), and his first book features a space mission gone ... well, wrong. We took a moment to interview his main character about her world, the situation, and how she's fighting to stand up and take control.

1.     So first, the obvious. Tell us about your world. Where do you live? What’s the story there? 

Well, I don’t live on a world. I hope to one day, I think. I live on Endeavor, an interstellar colonial transport. Or what’s left of it. We were only one year from our destination when everything went wrong.

2.    Got it. And now, the bad guy. Who are you fighting against? And why? 

I … don’t know. We don’t know what happened. We’re trying to figure that out. But right now, our first priority is finding a way to survive. Whatever it takes.

3.    So your fight is a completely different one, then. And it sounds like someone who was supposed to take care of you left you in a bad way. What’s going on there?  

My mom was our captain, and my whole life's been spent in her shadow. But she died with the rest of the adults. And now, with everything that’s happened … I'm realizing I’m not ready for this. I might have thought I was, but I was definitely wrong. Everything’s going sideways, and I don’t know what to do about it. Do I trust my older brother, even if I think what he's doing is wrong? What if it means watching my friends die? How can I live with myself if I stand by for that?

4.    Ouch. So what’s your biggest fight right now? 

 We have to live. The few of us that are left have to survive. Whatever it takes, I have to be capable of doing it. Even if it means standing up to my commander. Even if it means alienating the others.

5.    Do you think you’ll succeed? 

I hope so. I think my brother’s strong enough to lead us.

6.    Sounds like you’ve got a fight on your hands. And that the fight might set you up against members of your crew. How do you know you’re doing the right thing?  

When I feel lighter, when my chest flutters like it’s in the vacuum of space, I think I’m doing what’s right. But how do I know my reality isn’t wrong? My brother would never intentionally lead us into danger. And if he made a mistake, and I said so, would the others even believe me? I wish I knew.

7.    Final question. What do you think of being a heroine rather than a hero? Does it matter? Can a girl be just as revolutionary as a boy? 

Yes. Of course! It doesn’t matter if she’s a girl. My mom was captain of the most ambitious undertaking in the history of humankind. Everyone loved her. Didn’t they?

Keep up with J David and learn more about his world--and the process!

FB: @jdavidwilcox

Twitter: @jdavidwilcox

Instagram: @granitespire

 

{Book Spotlight} DEBBI by George Ebey

StoryTime officially released last week! YAY! Unfortunately, due to some issues with the distributors, we've had some trouble getting active buy links. Thankfully, the problem is now (mostly) solved. So, today, we're spotlighting our newest releases and finally sharing the buy links!

Up first.... DEBBI by George Ebey....

A game to end all games. On the line: her family’s future. Will Helen’s creation be enough to win the day? Or will she lose, and take her family down with her?

Helen Hunter’s father hopes to make his fortune by sending a robotic rover, controlled from Earth, to mine the surface of Mars for precious ores.

But there’s a catch. To do it, he’ll have to assume financial responsibility for the rover.  And on the harsh and desolate surface of Mars, one false move can mean the difference between untold riches and utter disaster. It’s a risky move that could spell doom for the entire family … and their hopes for the future.

Unless Helen can intervene.

The company behind the mining system—MARSCORP—is holding a junior gaming competition at their annual convention, and this is her chance. Grand prize is a one-year lease on a brand new Mars mining rover. Winning would mean that her father gets his shot at the Martian bonanza without any risk to the family.

But it won’t be easy. Teens from all over the country have come to compete. Some are smart. Others, ruthless. And Helen’s not the only one who needs to win. The mission: use her personally designed robot to fight it out in a high-tech arena that can simulate any environment, real or imagined. Beat the competitors. Bring home the prize.

Luckily for Helen, gaming and robot design are her specialties.

And when she unleashes her newest creation on the competition, a miniature homemade rover she calls DEBBI, the world is going to see just how skilled she really is.
The question is … will it be enough?

BUY LINK: BARNES & NOBLE
BUY LINK: AMAZON (COMING SOON!)
ADD TO GOODREADS

About the Author:
George Ebey is the author of the forthcoming Phoenix Saga, a series of fantasy adventure tales for young readers soon to be published by Glass House Press.

Prior to turning to the world of Middle Grade and Young Adult adventure, he got his start by writing works of mystery and suspense. Ebey’s previous titles include: Broken Clock; The Red Bag; Dimensions: Tales of Suspense; and Widowfield.

These days he’s proud to be an author with Glass House Press as well a contributor to the International Thriller Writer’s online webzine,The Big Thrill.

Follow George on his website, Facebook, and Twitter. 

{TEASER TIME}: DEBBI by George Ebey

With StoryTime right around the corner, we've been sharing teasers galore, and we've got another one for you today. This time it's an exclusive teaser excerpt from George Ebey's, DEBBI.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Cute design.”

She turned to face the origin of the voice and found two people standing before her. She recognized them right away; she’d seen enough game replays and vid-interviews to be able to place them anywhere.

Daryl and Lyla Kioko. Her competition.

At first glance, they didn’t look particularly imposing: short, thin, and somewhat baby-faced, the two of them. They seemed to have the charming twin thing going on, with the same raven-black hair, the same facial tics, even the same preppy clothes. In fact, they could have just as easily been starring in a string of designer jeans ads as competing in a robot battle competition. But there was a look in their eyes—a shared link of intensity that left no doubt that they meant business.

In his hands, Daryl held what she could only conclude was their own battling robot—Iron Dragon. You couldn’t mistake it. Sleek and shiny, it even had the head of a dragon, its treacherous mouth agape, ready to breathe fire on any enemy who dared oppose it. Compared to her simple approach with DEBBI, this was next-level stuff, and she couldn’t help but think that his use of the word cute was meant as a jab rather than a compliment.

She placed DEBBI back in the gate and said, “Thank you,” trying her best to save face. She still didn’t care much about DEBBI’s appearance, but the fact that her competition was using it as a means to get a dig in didn’t sit well with her.

“Don’t mention it,” he said with a smug grin.

She didn’t know what was more unsettling—his air of carefree swagger or his sister’s cold aloofness. Lyla said nothing and gave nothing, simply watching the exchange with a neutral expression on her face.

Helen got the feeling that this was some kind of calculated strategy of theirs. Size up the competition. Maybe try to throw them off their game a little. A weird twin version of good cop, bad cop.

Fortunately for Helen, her very own partner in crime chose that moment to come to her aid.

“What’s this?” Misty asked, stepping out onto the arena stage. “A party? Why wasn’t I invited?”
Daryl looked her up and down for a moment before saying, “Oh, I’d be happy to invite you anywhere you’d like to go.”

Misty didn’t miss a beat. “No thanks,” she said. “I have more interesting things to do. Like watching them change the paper towels in the rest room.”

Unfazed, Daryl shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He strode over to his side of arena, placed Iron Dragon in its own start gate, and motioned for his sister to come along. Lyla gave them one last hard and unreadable stare before turning away.

“Good luck, ladies,” Daryl said as he led his sister off the stage. “Enjoy those paper towels.”

Helen watched them go, her hands clenched into fists the entire time. Now she was more determined than ever to win, not only for the grand prize, but for the chance to shove it right in Daryl Kioko’s arrogant face.

“Mist,” she said, referring to her friend’s name in that special, condensed way that only BFFs understood.

“Yeah, H?”

“Let’s gear up. We have a dragon to hunt.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

ADD TO GOODREADS

About the Author:
George Ebey is the author of the forthcoming Phoenix Saga, a series of fantasy adventure tales for young readers soon to be published by Glass House Press.

Prior to turning to the world of Middle Grade and Young Adult adventure, he got his start by writing works of mystery and suspense. Ebey’s previous titles include: Broken Clock; The Red Bag; Dimensions: Tales of Suspense; and Widowfield.

These days he’s proud to be an author with Glass House Press as well a contributor to the International Thriller Writer’s online webzine,The Big Thrill.

Follow George on his website, Facebook, and Twitter. 

{COVER REVEAL}: DEBBI by George Ebey

Woo! Do we have something exciting for you today!!!! We've been sitting on this GORGEOUS cover for a long time, and now we can finally share it. We also have a super sweet giveaway for you! Be sure to scroll all the way to the end to enter.

Okay, ready to see the cover??


Set.......




GO!




Keep going.....





A little further......

A game to end all games. On the line: her family’s future. Will Helen’s creation be enough to win the day? Or will she lose, and take her family down with her?

Helen Hunter’s father hopes to make his fortune by sending a robotic rover, controlled from Earth, to mine the surface of Mars for precious ores.

But there’s a catch. To do it, he’ll have to assume financial responsibility for the rover.  And on the harsh and desolate surface of Mars, one false move can mean the difference between untold riches and utter disaster. It’s a risky move that could spell doom for the entire family … and their hopes for the future.

Unless Helen can intervene.

The company behind the mining system—MARSCORP—is holding a junior gaming competition at their annual convention, and this is her chance. Grand prize is a one-year lease on a brand new Mars mining rover. Winning would mean that her father gets his shot at the Martian bonanza without any risk to the family.

But it won’t be easy. Teens from all over the country have come to compete. Some are smart. Others, ruthless. And Helen’s not the only one who needs to win. The mission: use her personally designed robot to fight it out in a high-tech arena that can simulate any environment, real or imagined. Beat the competitors. Bring home the prize.

Luckily for Helen, gaming and robot design are her specialties.

And when she unleashes her newest creation on the competition, a miniature homemade rover she calls DEBBI, the world is going to see just how skilled she really is.

The question is … will it be enough?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big & Exciting Changes at GH

It’s a whole new month, and we have some updates!

Staffing Changes:
SO. First of all, have to do the inevitable apology for being so quiet on the blog for the last month or so. Our social media coordinator (who we still stalk obsessively and love to death) took a break, and our NEW social media coordinator (who we also stalk obsessively and love to death) had Things To Do before she could start here.

I can’t really complain, because … well first off, I love them both to death. Also, I’m ridiculously lucky to have them at all, and complaining would just be super ungrateful.

BUT now that Kara has started as our new Blog Coordinator, she has a terrific lineup of blogs coming down the pipe, so get ready for some action! The first blog, of course, falls to me (and as an editor, I’m CONSTANTLY complaining about the need to –actually– write things. It just seems so unfair.).

That being said. It’s update time. So here’s the happenings for right now.

New Faces and New Books:
We took part in several pitch parties over the last couple of months, which means we have NEW AUTHORS TO ANNOUNCE. Some submissions are still coming in, so this certainly isn’t a complete list (I’m looking at you, Shanna), but here are the newbies for now:

• Shawna Railey, who some of you might have seen us talking to on Twitter. She writes urban sci fi/fantasy. 
• Sonya Craig, who writes space opera/dystopian
• Richie Schall, who writes MG high fantasy 

I have no doubt that there will be a LOT more coming from them as we get to know each other. I’m super excited to welcome these lovelies into the GH family, and hope you’ll watch out for novellas from them in the upcoming StoryTime events.

Pitch Events from a Publisher's Perspective:
We took part in several pitch parties over the last couple of months, which means man-oh-man do I have stories. And not all of them are good. But since pitch parties are becoming de rigueur, and happening more and more often, I think those stories—good and bad—or things I’m going to have to get used to. Because let’s be honest—IS there anything more fun and efficient than authors being able to contact publishers and agents directly through a hashtag event?

I think not.

Just in case you’re thinking about getting involved in a pitch party, though, here are some tips that we learned the hard way. First off, these things are COMPLETELY OVERWHELMING. As an author, you probably only get to pitch a specific number of times an hour, or a specific number of times during the event. As publishers and editors and agents, we can check as often as we want. And man-oh-man does that kill efficiency in the office. The easiest and best thing to do, we found, was to browse the thread once every two hours or so—that way we know we’re seeing what there is to see, and we’re still doing that thing called work. I would say it will work the same for authors—checking obsessively isn’t going to make anyone respond more quickly, and it’s going to kill your work flow!

Next: follow the rules in these things. Most publishers and agents are looking for specific things, and tweeting to them about something that falls outside of their interest list is just like submitting something that doesn’t work for their catalog. It’s going to lead to disappointment. Which isn’t fun for anyone.

DO, though, communicate with people if they’ve liked one of your pitches! One of my favorite things was carrying on conversations with people I’d asked to pitch us, and getting to know them a little bit. And as an acquisitions editor, I can tell you that the people who responded to me personally were the people I looked for in the submissions box.

Do also understand that 140-character elevator pitches can be extremely misleading, though, and that’s no one’s fault. There’s only so much you can put into that small word count! So a lot of the pitches we liked and received turned out to be something very different from what we thought they were. And that happens. It’s not the end of the world. But it’s good for everyone involved to go in with that in mind—a like and request doesn’t mean it’s all going to work out in the end. This is also true on both ends! Half of the pitches I liked never even bothered to respond to me. So a pitch party means getting a shot at a great contract, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than that.

GH Flash Fiction Contest:
Final thing on the List of Things Carrie was Told to Talk About: our flash fiction writing contest. We’re SUPER excited to announce that we’re going to be hosting a number of flash-fiction pieces from our authors in upcoming blogs, and these aren’t just any flash fiction pieces. Our editorial team chooses a number of random (and fancy—one of our first words is palimpsest!) words, and hands them to the chosen author, who is then responsible for writing a 2500-word story using those words. We’re going to host all of our authors in this contest, and at the end of the year hold a vote for who wins. The winner will receive … not a pony. Yes, a pony was suggested, and yes, I’ve refused that as a prize. We haven’t really decided on the prize yet BUT that doesn’t change the fact that this will be a contest. Our first author is Mary Fan, so keep your eyes open for her story at the end of the month, and get ready to vote for your favorite at the end of the year!

I believe that’s all the updates for now, and it better be, because I have SO MUCH EDITING TO TAKE CARE OF. Keep your eyes open for cover reveals of our May StoryTime authors next month, along with interviews of new authors this month and announcements about upcoming A Rebel’s Stone and Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil releases! Until next time, lovelies!