In My Mailbox (47) & MIA Explanation

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristie at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie

BookMooch (Loved this series as a kid!)
~Mandie and the Secret Tunnel by Lois Gladys Leppard
~Mandie and the Cherokee Legend by Lois Gladys Leppard
~Mandie and the Ghost Bandits by Lois Gladys Leppard
~Mandie and the Forbidden Attic by Lois Gladys Leppard

For Review from Author
~Ghost Ride by Marina Cohen

For Review from Simon and Schuster
~ARC Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

For Review from HarperTeen
~Love Sucks by Melissa Francis (Does anyone have a copy of the first book, Bite Me, that they don't want?)

Won from Pure Imagination
~Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
~$15 iTunes GC

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First off I'd like to apologize for being MIA this week. I left for Columbia, SC Sunday to go stay with my dad and just got back yesterday. I had limited access to the internet and I'm afraid I didn't really get much reading done. XD On the plus side, I got to spend time with my dad, enjoy a Crab Lover's Trio at Red Lobster, and go to the Riverbanks Zoo. I got some good, and not so good but funny, pictures while there. It was my second time ever going to a zoo; the first time I went was in Pre-K and, oddly enough, it was to the same zoo. I'll do a post with some pictures tomorrow or Monday if you want to see some.

Anywho, needless to say I was glad to come home and find all these lovely books waiting for me. I hope all of you have had a great week and received some awesome books as well. :D

Author Interview: Eric Luper

Hello everyone and welcome! I recently had the chance to interview Eric Luper, author of the YA novel Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto, which is a more recent favorite of mine. If you haven't read it yet, you should. Now for the interview....

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The Book Pixie: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Eric Luper: I’m originally from northern New Jersey, but currently call Albany NY home. I’ve been writing in earnest for ten years during which time I’ve written four publishable novels and lots of unpublishable stuff. When I’m not writing, I’m typically hanging out with my family in Lake George, reading or… well, usually I’m writing.

TBP: Give us a brief description of your book.

EL: SETH BAUMGARTNER’S LOVE MANIFESTO is a book about one teen’s attempt to figure out what love is, why love is and why we’re stupid enough to keep going back for more. In the wake of getting dumped by his girlfriend and seeing his father out with a woman who is not his mother, Seth begins a podcast called The Love Manifesto to figure it all out. Of course, life never turns out the way we expect and everything unravels more and more culminating at the big father/son golf tournament.

TBP: Did you put any of your own characteristics into creating Seth? If so, which ones?

EL: I’d say all of my characters have a bit of me in them. I like to think of my characters as reflections of different aspects of myself.

TBP: In Seth Baungartner's Love Manifesto, love is often compared to 'the worst chicken sandwich ever'. What inspired this particular metaphor?

EL: That comparison didn’t come about until later in the game. I had Audrey bringing around these terrible chicken salad sandwiches but I had no idea why she was doing it. Only when I got to the end did it all become clear to me. These particular chicken salad sandwiches had meaning!

TBP: How did you go about choosing which songs to include in Seth's podcast?

EL: That was a constant work-in-progress through the course of writing the book. I had different podcast transcripts and the challenge became finding contemporary songs that matched thematically for intro and outro songs. I can’t tell you how many times I changed the songs around. Subsequent to the release of the book, other better songs have come out! Aaargh!

TBP: Are you currently working on anything else?

EL: My next novel is for middle grade readers. It’s called JEREMY BENDER VS THE CUPCAKE CADETS. It’s the story of two 6th grade boys who decide to masquerade as what amounts to girl scouts in order to enter a competition with a large cash award. Of course, they discover being a girl isn’t as easy as they thought!

TBP: Who is a YA author you'd love to co-write a book with?

EL: I think I would pick a female author to co-write a book with. Something with alternating points of view. Someone who writes contemporary realistic fiction. Maybe Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart, Rachel Cohn or Maryrose Wood. That would be so much fun.

TBP: If today was your last day, how would you spend it and why?

EL: I would definitely spend it with my kids, probably running up my credit cards as quickly as possible.

TBP: What would you consider to be the theme song of your life and why?

EL: This is an impossible question to answer because different songs apply to different times in my life. If I had to pick one single song, I’d have to say “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi. Heck, you can’t go wrong with lyrics like “I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd; You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud!” Plus, I’m from New Jersey and everyone from New Jersey has a Bon Jovi story.

TBP: Anything else you'd like to add?

EL: Only that I feel blessed to be able to do what I get to do every day. Thanks!

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Well that's it everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this interview and please feel free to comment. Also a HUGE thanks to Eric Luper for letting me interview him.

If you would like to learn more about his novel, Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto, you can check out my Review and my Noteworthy Passages. Hope all of your weeks are off to a great start.

In My Mailbox (46)

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristie at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie

From BookMooch
~The Possibility of Fireflies by Dominique Paul

For Review from Author
~Signed! Arson by Estevan Vega
~Two signed Arson bookmarks

For Review from Simon & Schuster
~ARC Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
~Clockwork Angel poster
~Clockwork Angel notebook with purple pouch

From One of My Awesometastic Blog BFFs, Taschima
~ARC The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
~ARC The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
~ARC Firelight by Sophie Jordan
~ARC Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
~ARC The Call (The Magnificent Twelve) by Michael Grant
~Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
~Swaggy goodness

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You should have seen me when I found the shiny purple enevelope from S&S behind my door. I got all wide-eyed and was like, "Ooooo shiny! Pretty color! Must tear open NOW!" Lol. And then when I got my books from Taschima today I was so frikin excited! All in all, it was a terrific book week for me.

I hope you all managed to get some great books as well! Have a lovely Saturday. :D

Noteworthy Passages: The Broken Lake

The Broken Lake (ARC) by Shelena Shorts
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing, LLC
Release Date: August 19th, 2010
Pages: 304
Age Level: YA
Series: Book #2 in The Pace series

Disclaimer: Please note that this is an ARC and passages and quotes below are subject to change in the final copy

Synopsis via GoodReads
In the aftermath of Sophie's ordeal, Weston will make some uncharacteristic decisions to distance himself from the past in an attempt to change the future.

But, while venturing into the improbable, the present sneaks up in a chilling way that will lead to Wes' unexpected submission. Suddenly, Sophie will find herself watching as both his immortal secret and his own existence are threatened.

Continuously intriguing, The Broken Lake takes readers to a place where eternal bonds confront a division that is sure to leave everyone wondering whom they can trust.

Noteworthy Passages

Sophie; pg. 88-89
Once I relaxed, I felt weightless. He was floating on his back effortlessly and I was lying on top of him like he was a raft. I propped myself up on my forearms and studied his calm, perfect face in the sunlight. His eyes were closed and I could see he was completely comfortable and relaxed. I looked around the panoramic view of the lake and couldn't help but feel relaxed too.

Sophie; pg 212
I realized then, that not only was he mine to love forever, he was mine to care for forever. He needed me as much, if not more, than I needed him, and lying there together made me see that.
As perfect and indestructible as he was physically, he was vulnerable emotionally. And this was what I was there for. This is what he'd been missing for decades, someone to love him and care for him in a way that made him willing to give up everything for that person. In the way that I did.

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Don't you just love those?! I just absolutely adored both these passages and I hope you do too. If this isn't enough to convince you to read this series, or if you'd just like to learn more, then check out the following links. :D

Review: The Pace
Noteworthy Passages: The Pace
Review: The Broken Lake
Author Interview: Shelena Shorts
Guest Post: Shelena Shorts

Thanks for stopping by and happy friday everyone!










PLEASE NOTE: This is a feature hosted here at my blog in which I present you with selected passages or quotes that I deem Noteworthy from a book I've just reviewed. My hopes are of course, that these passages will make you want to pick the book up and read it. This feature was started and created by me in January in hopes of making my blog more unique. That being said, I would like to kindly request that you do not use this feature as it was intended to be for my blog only and is not a meme. If you see some one else using it, please know it is without my permission. Thank you.