"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Title:  The Day Before

Author:  Lisa Schroeder

Publication date:  June 28, 2011

Lisa Schroeder's:  website | facebook | twitter
Pre-order The Day Before:  IndieBound | Amazon | Borders 
Add The Day Before to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | LibraryThing

Summary:

Sometimes there's no turning back.

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.  

Awesome Book Event! Richelle Mead!

Richelle Mead

Last night I attended a Powell's book signing event featuring the fabulous Richelle Mead!  It was awesome to meet her and to hear more about her writing process and upcoming projects.  She read a bit of Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5), answered several questions from the audience, and signed lots of books!  If you would like a signed copy of Vampire Academy, be sure to check out our giveaway post HERE.  Candace from Candace's Book Blog will also be giving away a signed copy of Vampire Academy, so you can enter both contests to double your odds.  :-)

Rather than summarize the whole event for you, I decided to record Richelle's Spirit Bound reading and most of her Q & A session to share with you guys.  (My apologies for the shaky camera work and my noisy camera that creaks and clicks while attempting to focus.)  You can find all seven clips on TheEagerReaders' YouTube Channel.

Part 1 - Richelle responds to a question about whether her characters are based upon real people. She describes the inspiration for Abe's wardrobe in her Vampire Academy series. She also answers a question about whether she would rather be a Dhampir, a Moroi, or a Strigoi.

Part 2 - Richelle responds to a question about which scenes she enjoys writing the most.  She also discusses the challenges of working on a scene repeatedly throughout the editing process.

Part 3 - Richelle talks about the possibility of a Vampire Academy movie now that the film rights have been optioned.  She describes how little input authors have in the movie-making process once the rights are sold.

Part 4 - Richelle responds to a question about why she chose to have her vampires hail from Russia and Romania.

Part 5 - Richelle discusses the way short story anthologies typically come together and mentions her story about Lissa's parents in the upcoming Kisses from Hell anthology.

Part 6 - Richelle responds to a question about where she gets the ideas for her books & mentions a metal dragon sculpture she recently stumbled across in Leavenworth, Washington that captured her interest.

Richelle reads an excerpt of Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5).  This excerpt is from chapter three, and Richelle pauses part way through the excerpt to explain a bit more about how Rose came to be eating a popsicle in that scene.  :-)

The Vampire Academy series is one of my favorite discoveries this year!  I don't know how it took me until May to pick up the first book, but as soon as I finished the first book I couldn't wait to devour the other four.  It is definitely in the running for the most addictive series I've read all year.  Rose is a fantastically  tough and snarky heroine, her best-friend Lissa is charismatic and complicated, and the guys in this series are DELICIOUS!  If you haven't picked up the Vampire Academy series yet, you may want to read the first five books before the sixth and final book, Last Sacrifice, is released December 7th.  To learn more about the Vampire Academy books or Richelle's two adult urban fantasy series, visit Richelle's website, blog, facebook, or twitter.

Vampire Academy

Buy it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Frostbite - Vampire Academy #2

Buy it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Shadow Kiss - Vampire Academy #3

Buy it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon 

Add it to your: Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Blood Promise - Vampire Academy #4

Buy it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Spirit Bound - Vampire Academy #5

Buy it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Last Sacrifice - Vampire Academy #6

Pre-order it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

I am excited to check out Richelle Mead's two adult series, her Georgina Kincaid books and Dark Swan books.  In addition to meeting Richelle and having fun visiting with Candace, it was wonderful to see local authors Lisa Schroeder and Suzanne Young again.  Lisa Schroeder has a children's book called Little Chimp's Big Day coming out September 7th.  It looks completely adorable, and I hope to be able to attend her signing event next month.  Suzanne Young's third Naughty List book, A Good Boy is Hard to Find, will be in stores November 25th.  And she also shared a bit of info regarding her upcoming YA novel, A Need So Beautiful (which I cannot wait to read)!  Lisa and Suzanne are seriously the sweetest and friendliest authors ever, and it is always a pleasure to visit with them.  If you haven't pre-ordered their upcoming books yet, be sure to check out the links below.

Lisa Schroeder's:

Pre-order it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon | B & N

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Visual Bookshelf

Suzanne Young's:

Pre-order it:  IndieBound | The Book Depository |  B & N

Add it to your:  Goodreads | Library Thing  

Winners!!

Thank you to everyone who entered our It's Raining Cupcakes and Chasing Brooklyn giveaways here on The Eager Readers!  :-)  The winners are:

1st prize = signed copy of Chasing Brooklyn:

 Carrie 

2nd prize (3) = signed Lisa Schroeder postcards: 

Liz A, Johnny, & Lena

1st prize = signed copy of It's Raining Cupcakes:

 Angie D.

2nd prize (2) = signed bookmarks:

 Lisa R & Tawnya

All winners have been contacted via email and have 48 hours to respond before new winners will be drawn.  Thank you to everyone who entered!  We have two more book giveaways that just started yesterday.  You can enter our contest for a copy of Julie Kagawa's The Iron King here and our contest for an ARC of Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red here.  Both giveaways end June 30th.  :-)

Book Giveaway!!! It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder!

A signed copy of  It's Raining Cupcakes + signed bookmarks!

Update (6/1): Contest closed!  To view the list of winners click here! :)

Lisa Schroeder's It's Raining Cupcakes is a charming middle-grade novel about learning to treasure the people and places closest to your heart.  You can read our full review here and watch Lisa's television interview about It's Raining Cupcakes here.  If you would like to learn more about all of Lisa Schroeder's books, please check out her website and blog.  I am so happy to have had the opportunity to visit with Lisa at a few author events recently, and I am very excited to have a few signed goodies to share with you!   :-)

It's Raining Cupcakes Summary:

Twelve-year-old Isabel is dying to get out of Oregon. She spends her free time in the library, reading and dreaming about faraway places. When her mom decides to open a cupcake shop in their little town of Willow, Isabel feels just like buttercream frosting to a cupcake - stuck. It seems as if it will be another disappointing summer, until Isabel learns of a baking contest. If she can come up with a winning recipe, she might have a chance of competing in the bake-off in New York City! But Isabel's best friend, Sophie, is also entering the contest, and things always seem to go Sophie's way. To make matters worse, Isabel and her mom don't exactly see eye-to-eye on the type of recipe Isabel should enter. In this sweet treat by popular teen author Lisa Schroeder, Isabel discovers that maybe it's not about where you go in life as much as it is about enjoying the view from wherever you are.

Contest Details:

First prize (1 winner) = a signed, hardback copy of It's Raining Cupcakes

Second prize (2 winners) = a signed It's Raining Cupcakes bookmark


Contest deadline:
May 31st at 11:59 pm (PST)


How to Enter:
Follow The Eager Readers and fill out the form below.  *required*  (Open to US residents only.  Sorry!)

Extra Entries:

+4  for posting a link to this contest on your blog [sidebar is fine]
+2  for tweeting the following link to this contest:  
Book giveaway! Enter to win a signed copy of IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES by @lisa_schroeder! Visit @TheEagerReaders (ends 5/31) >> http://wi.nr/wZ
+1  for sharing a link to this contest on facebook
+1  for telling us your favorite type of cupcake  :-)
+1 for tallying your total number of entries  *required*

Thank you for entering our It's Raining Cupcakes contest!!  :)