Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Authors I Still Need to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.  This week's theme:

Freebie!

I haven't done one of these in a long time, but the freebie topic gave me an idea of something I'd been thinking about lately.  I've been lucky enough to meet a lot of awesome authors.  And meeting authors is the coolest thing in the world.  So, there are lots of authors I haven't met yet, but really, really, really want to. So I thought I would share that as my top 10.  So here are my top 10.

1.   Anna Todd

Ever since I decided to listen to the audiobook of After back in February, I think it was, I have been so  obsessed with this series.  I even got  my last tattoo because of this book.  I have got to meet her!  Unfortunately the only opportunity that I know of, is next year at Apollycon, which I can't afford to go to.  But I will be keeping my eyes open for some kind of chance somewhere else at some other time.

2.  Jennifer L. Armentrout

I am in love with Daemon Black, and the whole Lux series, as well as The Dark Elements series, and I've just started the Covenant series.  The really cool thing though?  I will be getting to meet her at the end of September at NOLA Story Con.

3.  Jay Crownover

I only began reading her books because she is also going to be at NOLA Story Con, but man, am I glad I did!  She has totally got me hooked on tattooed boys, and I LOVE her books!  I cannot wait to meet her this fall.  I've only read her Marked Men series so far, and I have one more of them.  But I've been getting to know some of the characters in her newer series, Saints of Denver, and now I'm getting excited to read about them as well.  

4.  Samantha Young

This is another author I only began reading because of NOLA Story Con. And once again, thank goodness!  I can't imagine my life without having met Nate Sawyer from Before Jamaica Lane.  As much as I love Daemon Black from JLA's books, Nate is my perfect book boyfriend.  Her books make me laugh, cry, and get really steamy!

5.  Colleen Hoover

This author I fell in love with after reading the book she is holding in this picture.  And then, I read another, and another, and now I'm just a huge fan.  Not sure when I'll get a chance to meet her, but I'm still really hoping for it!

6.  Gwenda Bond

I have been a huge fan of this author since the first book of hers that I read, Blackwood.  And I love her circus series!  Not sure when I'll get to meet her. Would be so cool if she came to a Comic-Con here in Kansas City!

7.  Anne Blankman

I first discovered this author with her book, Prisoner of Night and Fog.  I LOVED this book.  It totally made you look at the holocaust, or at least Hitler and when he came into power from a viewpoint that I don't feel I'd ever had the chance to read yet.  I am friends with her on Facebook, and I keep seeing events that she's at, but I have yet to meet her.  But one day I will!


8.  J.R. Johansson

I have been a huge fan since I first won her book Insomnia in a giveaway.  I have enjoyed all her other books so far, and hope to one day get to meet her!

9.  Cora Carmack

I've enjoyed this series by her as well.  She is yet another author that is going to be at NOLA Story Con.  And I'd also heard so much about her from other readers, so I was excited to try her books out.

10.  Dean Koontz

Now, this is an author I have loved since I was in like 7th or 8th grade.  I love his books, although recently I'm a bit behind.  But his love for dogs, and his great stories, some of the ones that I read over and over and could pick up and read again today, make him someone I wish I could one day meet.

Promo Post: Another Girl By Allison Burnett

Back in August I was contacted by Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag and asked if I might be interested in doing a promo for his new book.  It's not necessarily my normal type of book, since it's really NA as opposed to YA, but the story sounded interesting because it does have to do with online friendships and other types of online relationships. And so I wanted to talk about the online friendships I feel I have, both the ones that are just online, as well as the ones where I've actually been able to meet them in person!

I feel like I have had online friendships for a long time, since clear back in the late 90s.  I belonged to an online discussion group on AOL for people who loved dachshunds.  One of them was so nice that when I had a science teacher conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived, she came and picked me up from the airport and drove me to the hotel.  She even took me out for dinner one night that I was there as well. 

In more recent times with Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, I've had more opportunities to talk to authors online, as well as even get to meet them!  The first one I want to talk about is Cara Lynn Shultz.  Her book, Spellbound, was actually the first e-galley I ever got.  And as I read it, I first looked to find her on Twitter, as I do for any new author, and she followed along with me as I read and loved and reviewed her book.  We became good "Twitter buddies" and found all kinds of things we had in common. We both loved New Kids on the Block when we were younger (I still do) and listened to the same kinds of music, as well as loved movies like Twilight.  When my younger sister moved to NYC, I was tweeting about all the places I went to visit when I got to go stay with her.  And when I suggested maybe we could meet somewhere, she said yes!  We ended up meeting in a public place, over by the New York Public Library that is located by Bryant Park.  It was November, so we went to a little bar they had in the park by the ice skating rink. We talked for hours!  Then she took me and my sister to see a little speakeasy in Grand Central Station, and we talked even longer.  Here we are that first night when I got to meet her.

Another author that I had followed online, and then recognized while standing in line at my first BEA in 2012 was Michelle Madow.  But I didn't even think to ask for a picture with her until the last time I saw her, my 2nd time at BEA in 2014.  And then I had just tweeted about hoping to run into her when she walked right by me while I was in line to see Becca Fitzpatrick.  Here we are:

I feel like I haven't had as much chance to meet a lot of bloggers in person as I would like to. In fact at times, I feel the blogging world can be a little "clique-ish", as I've had bloggers I knew were somewhere at BEA, but the didn't seem to want to meet up.  Others I've met in line at conferences and immediately had great conversations and definitely made friends with.  But there are many that I feel I talk to regularly and that we do make sure to go back and forth and comment on each others' blogs all the time, even if we may never get to meet in person.

Okay, enough about me.  Let me talk a little about this book that I'm sharing with you today.  Another Girl is actually a sequel to another book by the author, Undiscovered Gyrl, which was made into a movie that is now available on Netflix, called Ask Me Anything.

Here is the Goodreads blurb for the first book:

Only on the internet can you have so many friends and be so lonely.
Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt is taking a year off before college to find her passion. Ambitious in her own way, Katie intends to do more than just smoke weed with her boyfriend, Rory, and work at the bookstore. She plans to seduce Dan, a thirty-two-year-old film professor.
Katie chronicles her adventures in an anonymous blog, telling strangers her innermost desires, shames, and thrills. But when Dan stops taking her calls, when her alcoholic father suffers a terrible fall, and when she finds herself drawn into a dangerous new relationship, Katie's fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.
Sexually frank, often heartbreaking, and bursting with devilish humor, Undiscovered Gyrl is an extraordinarily accomplished novel of identity, voyeurism, and deceit.


Purchase links for Undiscovered Gyrl:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307473120/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307473120&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undiscovered-gyrl-allison-burnett/1103375212?ean=9780307473127

 Purchase link for Another Girl:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Another-Girl-Allison-Burnett/dp/1516887514/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440376812&sr=8-1&keywords=another+girl 

Here's the movie poster:

I haven't seen it, but I am a fan of Justin Long, so may have to check it out soon!

So, do you have any awesome online friendships you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear about them!

Waiting on Wednesday: Worlds of Ink and Shadow: A Novel of the Brontes by Lena Coakley

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  For a change this week, I'm featuring a book that is not part of a series.  As far as I know, it will be a standalone.  I always love when historical fiction takes real people from history, and using what knowledge we have about them, weaves a story that brings them to life.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to slip into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters—the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna—refuse to let them go.

Gorgeously written and based on the Brontës’ juvenilia, Worlds of Ink & Shadow brings to life one of history’s most celebrated literary families.

And as a lover of books and authors, what better type of people to read a historical fiction novel about than this group of siblings/authors?  What do you think? Does it sound like something you'd want to read?

What book are you eagerly awaiting this week? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 All Time Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.  Now, I try not to do too many extra posts when I'm doing the A to Z Challenge, but this is a topic I couldn't pass up.  I love to talk about my favorite authors!  As well as promote some that I think need some love.  The top this week is a hard one, how can I only pick 10?  The instructions for today say that you could narrow it down to maybe just one genre, or make a list of 20 if you had to.  I'm going to do my best to stay at 10, so just know that there will definitely be authors left off that are really, really awesome.  These authors I'm going to share are ones that I either will pretty much auto-buy their books, or ones that not only have I loved one of their books, but they are really awesome to meet or talk to on social media.  This is so hard!!!

1.  Stephen King 

This past year I got to be in the same room at the same time as Stephen King.  Didn't get to meet him personally, but still this was pretty exciting.  For the most part I love all of his books.  I'm not that into his Dark Tower series, I read all the ones up before he took that little break, and now I just need to read the others.  I'm just not sure if I'll be able to remember enough to get back into them without going back and re-reading the others, and I know that I'm not going to do that.  

2.  Dean Koontz

I would do almost anything to get to meet him.  His love of dogs, and how he writes about them just makes him one of my favorite authors.  While I'm a few books behind in his Odd Thomas series, and there was a recent book of his that was almost too "dense" for me, I still will pretty much buy and read all his books at some point.  Well, I take that back.  I don't know that I'll read his Frankenstein series.

3.  Robert McCammon

I have almost all of his books.  There was a time when his books were auto-buy for me.  In doing this blog post I just saw that he has a new book coming out that they say is more like the way his book Swan Song was, which is one of my favorite books!  So just added that on Goodreads!

4.  Cara Lynn Schultz

Cara, and I call her Cara because we've met and hung out in person, like you see in this picture, was one of the first authors who I read their book from Netgalley.  I read it, you see it in the picture there, Spellbound, loved it, and immediately found her on social media.  We tweeted back and forth, etc.  Then when I went to visit my sister in NYC for the first time, I kind of hinted asking if she might be willing to meet up some where so that I could meet her and get an autograph.  And you know what?  She did!  We met over close to Bryant Park by the library where Carrie almost gets married in the Sex and the City movie.  We went and had a drink at a little bar by the ice skating rink and talked and hung out for a long time!  I will always be pushing her books, as I love the characters in them.  They are totally people that I want to hang out with, they make me laugh when I read their conversations, and the stories are really unique as well.  Plus I love all the NYC stuff she throws in, especially now that I've visited and can picture those places in my mind.  (Please go buy her books if you haven't read them yet!!)

5.  Maggie Stiefvater

So yeah, I've met her like 5 times.  And, one of the times, the first year I got to go to BEA, a publishing company found one of my pictures, the last one you see in above, and wanted to put it in a biography about her.  I love her books.  Again, it is the wonderful characters that I fall in love with.  I feel like I used to get to talk more to her on social media as well. There was a point when a very small side character in The Raven Boys might have shared my last name.  But alas, that character got cut.  I think she recognizes me now whenever I go see her. But I feel like maybe she thinks I'm stalking her?  Guess I might need to cut back on going to events to see her.  But I do need all of my books to be autographed if I get the chance, right?  Sorry Maggie, I'm not trying to be a creepy stalker!  I promise!  

6.  Heather Brewer

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 Another awesome author I've been lucky enough to meet more than once.  I not only love her writing, but as an online presence she is wonderful.  She is really there for all her fans, or minions as she calls them (us).  She speaks out about bullying, as someone who endured it in her past.  She is very open about her own depression and feelings, and I love that about her.  I think she is such a  neat person.   Her latest book, The Cemetery Boys, was one I really enjoyed and am currently featuring as one of my staff recommendations at the Barnes and Noble where I work part time.

7.  Jonathan Maberry

This is another author I've had several opportunities to meet.  I love his Rot and Ruin series.  He is also a great social media presence.  From interacting with him online I won a contest to get to name his next book in that series.  It is a collection of short stories from the world, and it has been available as an e-book, but will come out in hard copies later this year.  The title I helped come up with is Tooth and Nail.  Can't wait to own a copy of it!

8.  A.G. Howard

I love, love, love the Splintered series and was so excited to get to meet the author last summer at BEA.

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!!  I only have two more spots and I can't decide who else to include!!!  If I don't include you, just know it's not because I don't love you!!!!  I think I'll post the  next two on authors that I've read a ton of their books.

9.  William Sleator

This author has passed away not too long ago, but I loved all of his books.  The Boy Who Couldn't Die, House of Stairs, you name it, I devoured it if I could get ahold of it.

10.  Margaret Peterson Haddix

I have loved all of her books I've read, I believe the first of which was The Shadow Children series.  I got to meet her last year, which was very exciting.  I am behind in her Missing series right now, but need to catch up! 

Oh my gosh, so many more I want to talk about:  Michelle Madow, Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff, James Rollins, Steve Alten, Douglas Preston, Michael Grant, CJ Omololu, Jackie Morse Kessler, Kiera Cass, Kimberly Derting, Jennifer Brown, the list goes on and on. 

If you were going to do this, who would you pick?  Could you easily narrow down to only 10 favorite authors?  I know I didn't really do very well, but tried!

If you have time, you should stop by and enter into my A to Z Challenge giveaway on any of the letter posts, like my R Post today.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 authors I've only read one book from and need to read more!

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.  

The ten authors that I can't believe I've only read 1 book by are:

1. Andrew Smith - I just learned about this author with all the fuss being made over Grasshopper Jungle this year.  Now I must read all his books!  And get them for my school library.
2. Jennifer L. Armentrout - I got a copy of her book, Don't Look Back, as part of a box of ARCs from Disney last spring, and while it wasn't the main reason I wanted the set, it turned out to be one of my favorites!  I'd been told I needed to read her books, and I'd seen them all over the blogosphere.  Now I know.
3. Jennifer Brown - She lives in the same town where my dad lives, right next to the city that I live in.  I read Hate List for an award nominee for the Missouri Association of School Librarians.  I have at least one other of her book sitting at home waiting to be read.  I don't know why I haven't picked it up yet.
4. Laini Taylor - I got a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone the first time I attended BEA in 2012.  But it took me a bit to read it, again, crazy me.  Then I loved it!  I got to meet her when she came to my hometown a year ago I think, and so I have the 2nd book in the series, but I have yet to read it!  It is on my Sequel Challenge TBR list though.
5. Kiersten White - Another book that was a state library nominee was Paranormalcy, and so I read it to keep up with the students.  Enjoyed it quite a bit.  Now just need to read on!
6. Sophie Jordan - I'm kind of ashamed to admit that Uninvited is the first book of hers that I ever read.  I met her in 2013 at the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City, my hometown.  I was very excited to meet her, just from knowing her name from all the books at the bookstore where I work part time.  Now that I've read one, I'm eager to read on!
7. Patricia McCormick - Now I've only read one book by this author, Purple Heart, again for the award list, and while it wasn't my favorite book, I do want to read others she has that sound really good.  
8. Joe Hill - Yes, he is Stephen King's son, which is why I picked up his book, Heart Shaped Box.  I really enjoyed it, gave it a 5 star rating on Goodreads, but I read it the year before I started this blog, so no review to share.  Even though he and I had a bit of a political argument/discussion on Twitter a couple years ago, I still want to read more of his books.
9. Alex Flinn - I'm also embarrassed to admit that I assumed this author was a man because of her first name.  *hangs head in shame*  But I read one of her books, Cloaked, again as an award nominee, and liked it.  I also saw the movie for her book Beastly, and thought it was interesting enough I might read more.
10. Jennifer Donnelly - I got a copy of her book Revolution for free from the bookstore where I work because she was coming to do a signing.  I didn't get to see her unfortunately, but I loved the book.  I had really hoped to get a copy of Deep Blue at BEA this summer, but I wasn't able to sadly.

Of course there are many others I noticed as I looked through my Goodreads "Read" shelf, but these would be my top 10.  Have you read these authors books, do you agree that I should continue?  What authors do you need to read more of their books?

I can't believe it's my 5 year blogoversary!

I can't believe it has been 5 years since I started this blog.  I feel like I really got serious about it two years ago on my 3rd blogoversary.  And since that time I've jumped from 200 followers, to now over 2000!!  I've been offered more chances for review copies, as well as been invited on blog tours and such.  And one of the best things about blogging is all the authors I've met, both in person, and just getting to know others online.  I noticed other blogs having multiple cool gifts from authors on their blogoversary, and so I reached out to some of my favorite authors, ones that I have had a chance to work with in real life, or maybe am actual friends with, and asked for anything they would be willing to donate for a giveaway.  I got some great stuff!  I had one author that I wasn't able to get anything from even though she's helped me in the past, but then I also got some things from authors I had just met online and could use some help getting the word out about their books.  This will be somewhat international, the first prize I list will explain how that works.

• $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  If you are international, I will send you a book from the Book Depository worth up to $20.  This will probably be the only prize available for international, due to shipping costs, but I may offer one of my swag packs depending on the price to mail it out.
• The Dark World by Cara Lynn Shultz - Cara is an awesome author, the characters and dialogue in her books just really get me, they are so much the kind of people I would love to hang out with, or maybe already do.  And the stories are just so good!  When I requested some swag from her, she said she had some bookmarks she could send me.  Imagine how excited I was to get a package including a copy of the book.  Which if you have followed me for awhile, you know that my name is in the Thank You part at the end of the book.
• Andromeda  by Amy Bartelloni - I met Amy in line at BEA this summer, and then she offered to send me an e-copy of her book.  I haven't read it yet, but it sounds so great!  She also sent me a paperback copy that I will be giving away for my blogoversary.
• Arianna's Honor by Michelle Sodaro - Michelle is a teacher friend of mine.  She has recently self published her 3rd book, which is the sequel to this one.  I got an autographed copy of the first one to share.  I have read it, and enjoyed it. 
• The Write Thing by Anthony Ramirez - this is an author I've become friends with on Facebook and he offered to send me a copy of his book, and he also sent some bookmarks and a t-shirt that will be in the swag packs.
• Swag packs - these will be made up of varying bookmarks, as well as other things such as stickers, pens, buttons, and possibly other items as I have a few more authors still sending me some things.  As I said, I may be able to send one of these internationally.

I hope that something here sounds good to you!  I'm going to keep this open till the end of the month to give people lots of opportunities to enter.

Just some of the swag I have to give away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, feel free to join into either the September is for Sequels Giveaway Hop, or my September is for Sequels Challenge while you are here. 

A to Z April - Letter A: Authors

I'm really excited to get started on this challenge this year.  I'm not doing it because I need help blogging more regularly, I've actually gotten a lot better about that this year.  I'm doing it for a new experience, and to see if I can actually keep up.  I'm going to do a book theme.  Anything to do with books and book blogging will be things I talk about.  Today I will start with what is one of the most important things about books, the authors.  Without them, there wouldn't be books.  And as I've said before, authors are my rock stars.

I'm sure my posts will get better as I go along, but for today, I'm going to share some of my favorite authors, and then if you stop by, maybe you can leave a comment sharing your favorite authors.

Authors:

Some of my favorites from when I was younger include:  Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew books), Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High), and James Howe (Bunnicula).  As I got a little older it was VC Andrews (Flowers in the Attic), Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Robert McCammon.  Once I got into teaching, I really started getting into YA, partly because of what my students were reading, and partly because of my deciding I wanted to become a school librarian.  And now the list of favorite authors is endless it seems, and it keeps getting longer!  But here is a list of the top 10, in no particular order, and if I have a picture with them, I'll share that too!

• Cara Lynn Shultz
  
• Maggie Stiefvater
  
• Gabrielle Zevin
  
• Meg Cabot
  
• Heather Brewer
  
• Jay Asher
  
• Maureen Johnson
  
• Jonathan Maberry
  
• Mike Mullin
  
• Rachel Vincent
  

 I could go on and on, but I'll stop at just 10 for now, and kind of fill in with the whole Top 10 Tuesday theme that I often do.

Share your thoughts below!  And hey, while you're here, go enter to win a box of books at my stop in the Fool for Books Giveaway Hop.