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New York County, Municipal Jurisdiction

Manhattan, July 31, 1880

New York City Police Record: Case File 1306

To whoever should have the misfortune to review this closed—but still unresolved—case, I extend my condo­lences. I tell you truly that all persons involved have been insufferably odd.

All we know directly of Miss Natalie Stewart, disap­peared at age seventeen, is what you will read here in what was left behind as an absurd testimonial.

Herein you shall find pertinent newspaper articles enclosed by Miss Stewart regarding Lord Denbury and his infamous portrait. There are also letters from involved parties.

I am left to conclude that everyone involved is a certifi­able lunatic. Should you wish to indulge yourself and read a young lady’s foolish reveries on such highly improbable events, so be it. Should you believe any of it, I hope you have no business with the New York Police Department now or in the future.

Regards,

Sergeant James Patt

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Leanna Renee Hieber

About the book:

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1880. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart’s latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing… Lord Denbury’s soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

What people are saying:

“You’ll love it if you love murder mysteries with a supernatural twist… the story is so different from other fantasy novels that have been coming out recently. This chilling tale will draw you in and keep you guessing until the very last page!”–Seventeen Magazine

“Hieber applies some real imagination to the story…A good romp with effective suspense.”–Kirkus

“This smart novel will have wide appeal.”–Shelf Awareness

“A hypnotic web of suspense and romance…”–Booklist

Released: November 8, 2011

About the author:

Leanna Renee Hieber graduated with a BFA in Theatre from Miami University, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She adapted works of 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays such as Favorite Lady have been produced around the country.

Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in her Strangely Beautiful series, landed on Barnes & Noble’s bestseller lists, won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book), and has been optioned for adaptation into a musical theatre production currently in development. Foreign rights have been sold to Poland and Thailand. DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, hit the Kid’s/YA INDIE NEXT LIST as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association. Foreign rights have been sold to China (Complex translation, via Taiwan) and Turkey.

Leanna’s short fiction has been featured in anthologies Candle In the Attic Window and the upcoming Willful Impropriety: Tales of Society and Scandal and the upcoming Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (TOR). A member of performers unions AEA, AFTRA and SAG, Leanna works often in film and television and lives in New York City with her real life hero and their beloved rescued lab rabbit. You can visit her at http://leannareneehieber.com.

Win a signed copy of The Gathering Storm! Details at the end of this post.

CHAPTER ONE

 Fall 1888, Saint Petersburg, Russia

An afternoon spent solving quadratic equations would have been infinitely more pleasant. I smelled like a salad. Cucumber slices for soothing puffy eyes. Blackberry vinegar for brightening dull skin. Goat’s milk and honey for softening rough hands. I politely declined when my cousin offered a pinch of her goose lard and pomegranate facial cream.

It was Friday afternoon and our lessons had been cancelled at the Smolny Institute so everyone could prepare for the ball. Because dressing up like a doll was much more important than studying literature or learning arithmetic.

Matrimony. That was the true mission of the Smolny Institute for Young Noble Maidens. It was nothing more than a meat market for Russia’s nobility, where princes from all across Europe sent their daughters, intending them to marry off well. So there I sat, Katerina Alexandra Maria von Holstein-Gottorp, Duchess of Oldenburg. Great-great-granddaughter of Empress Josephine on my mother’s side, great-great-great-granddaughter of Katerina the Great on my father’s side. Princess of the Royal Blood. Royal meat for sale. I would have rather been dead.

Once I told Maman I wanted to attend medical school and work at one of Papa’s hospitals in Saint Petersburg or Moscow. I always accompanied her to the Oldenburg Children’s Hospital when she made her charity visits at Christmas and Easter. I thought it would be wonderful to take care of sick children and discover cures for diseases. But Maman was horrified at the idea.

“What man would marry a doctor?” she asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. “What a foolish notion!”

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Robin Bridges

About the book:

A royal court steeped in magic.

A dark prince with a hideous plan.

A young girl with a forbidden power.

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888

As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

What people are saying:

“Bridges could become a worthy successor to Libba Bray with this historical fantasy. Her lush settings, secret rituals, and paranormal creatures make for an atmospheric political adventure… Katiya is a strong female hero whose further adventures are worth following.”–Voya

“An atmospheric and complicated vampire tale that’s worth the effort of reading it.”–Kirkus

“An imaginative, complex blend of history and magic.”–Publishers Weekly

 Released: January 10, 2012

About the author:

By day, Robin is a mild-mannered writer of fantasy and paranormal fiction for young adults. By night, she is a pediatric nurse. Robin lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband, one soon-to-be teenager, and two slobbery mastiffs. She likes playing video games and watching Jane Austen movies. THE GATHERING STORM is her first novel. You can visit her at www.robinbridges.com.

Giveaway:

Robin has been kind enough to contribute a signed copy of The Gathering Storm!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on January 26th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win an ARC of May B! Details at the end of this post.

1

I won’t go.

“It’s for the best,” Ma says,
yanking to braid my hair,
trying to make something of what’s left.

Ma and Pa want me to leave
and live with strangers.

I won’t go.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Caroline Starr Rose

About the book:

Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, or May B. as she is known, is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead, “Just until Christmas,” says her Pa. Twelve-year-old May wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by fifteen long, unfamiliar miles.

Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned to the oncoming winter, trapped all alone in a tiny snow-covered sod house without any way to let her family know and no neighbors to turn to. In her solitude, she wavers between relishing her freedom and succumbing to utter despair, while trying to survive in the harshest conditions. Her physical struggle to first withstand and then to escape her prison is matched by tormenting memories of her failures at school. Only a very strong girl will be able to stand up to both and emerge alive and well.

In this debut novel written in gripping verse, Caroline Starr Rose has given readers a new heroine to root for, one who never, ever gives up.

What people are saying:

“Heroes come in all sizes, and my newest hero is a pint-sized girl called May B. Armed with only her book, a broom, and a lot of sheer grit, May B. faces the terrors of school, winter, and the west Kansas prairie. Caroline Starr Rose tells May’s story in simple, moving verse that captures the joy of family, the gloomy isolation of a dirt soddy, and the determination of one scared but indomitable young person. May B. is a girl you’ll be proud to know.”–Karen Cushman, author of The Midwife’s Apprentice (winner of the Newbery Medal) and Catherine, Called Birdy (Newbery Honor book)

“May B’s incredible adventure gripped me right from the beginning. You can almost hear — and feel — the cold prairie winds of Kansas whipping through the pages of Caroline Starr Rose’s impressive first novel.”–Deborah Hopkinson, author of Band of Angels and Girl Wonder (Jane Addams Award honor books)

“In language as stark and beautiful as the Kansas prairie, Caroline Starr Rose offers a tale of survival. With nothing sugar coated, and everything surprising, readers will fall into the story and connect to May B.’s resilient and humble character. A great antidote to the hooked-up, plugged in age.”–Kelly Easton, author of The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes and Hiroshima Dreams, and Hamline University Professor in the MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults program

“The language that streams through this book is timeless, transcendent, and graced with lyric spark, moving, always, the consequential story along. I listen for rhythms in the books I read, and I found them aplenty here. I look for heart, and found that, too—abundant and dear. Special books fit themselves into special places, and May B. has a new home here on my shelves.”–Beth Kephart, author of Dangerous Neighbors and The Heart is not a Size, and National Book Award Finalist.

 Released: January 10, 2012

About the author:

Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. As a girl she danced ballet, raced through books, composed poetry on an ancient typewriter, and put on magic shows in a homemade cape. She’s taught both social studies and English in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. In her classroom she worked to instill in her students a passion for books, the freedom to experiment with words, and a curiosity about the past.

Caroline has recently returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and two sons. You can visit her at www.carolinestarrrose.com.

Giveaway:

Caroline has been kind enough to contribute an ARC of May B for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on January 25th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win a copy of With a Name Like Love! Details at the end of this post.

It was the eighteenth of July, 1957, when Ollie’s daddy slowed their rusted out Chevy pickup near the junction of Highway 20 and Carter Road. They had come to set up for a three-day revival. Ollie sat in the truck bed with her sisters. She was thirteen and the oldest of Reverend Love’s five daughters, followed by Martha, Gwen, Camille, and Ellen. Ellen was at Ollie’s side, clutching Baby Doll Sue and singing “Mama’s Little Baby.” Ollie noticed her sister was getting the words twisted up and wrong – again.

It may have only been nine o’clock in the morning, but the summer sun was already high in the sky and sweating up the land. Fields of soft green barley laid themselves out across the earth in perfect rows – as if God had reached down and combed them just so. Ollie noticed a carved up plank of wood that someone long ago had shoved into the dark Southern soil. It read: Binder, Arkansas.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Tess Hilmo

About the book:

With a Name Like Love is a page turning, middle grade murder mystery full of heart and soul.

What people are saying:

“Hilmo creates a family, a town and a mystery that readers won’t soon forget … A story about the meaning of home, justice and love, beautifully told.”–Kirkus, starred review

“With a Name Like Love is just the sort of book I adore: a couldn’t-put-it-down mystery, richly drawn characters that grabbed me from the get-go, and a vivid small-town setting.  Two words for Tess Hilmo’s charming and suspenseful debut novel: Love it!”–Barbara O’Connor, author of The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

Released: September 27, 2011

About the author:

Tess Hilmo is a writer, family girl, hike taker, occasional nap stealer and lover of diet coke.  This, her debut novel, was inspired by her affinity for old, Southern gospel music like “This Little Light of Mine” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”. You can visit her at www.tesshilmo.com.

Giveaway:

Tess has been kind enough to contribute a copy of With a Name Like Love for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on October 12th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Chapter 1

I thought by the time I’d transferred to the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway, this foolish tendency to jump at every sound, to blush each time someone looked me in the eye, would have subsided. If Papa had been sitting next to me, he’d have patted my hand, his mustache curving into a smile. “All the world’s a stage, Willie,” he’d have said, “and you’re playing your part out of necessity, as have many before you.”

But Papa was dead, and the space next to me was empty. Staring at that void, I knew in my heart I was something much worse than a player on the world’s stage. And more than the summer heat made the perspiration trickle down the back of my neck. I jumped and blushed and perspired for good reason.

I was a liar and a thief.

The conductor called all passengers aboard, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But before I had time to celebrate my solitude, a young man bounded up the steps of my car and slid into the opposite seat. I stiffened, bracing myself for the prying questions strangers asked so freely of young ladies traveling alone. But he only removed his hat and, with a quick nod to me, slumped against the window with his eyes closed. The train jerked into motion with a great metallic screech, but even this did not rouse him. Grateful, I turned back to the window and studied what I could of Van Buren, Arkansas, branding my memory with details of the landscape before we entered Indian Territory.

Excerpt© 2011 Sonia Gensler

About the book:

When Willie arrives in Indian Territory, she knows only one thing: no one can find out who she really is. To escape a home she doesn’t belong in anymore, she assumes the name of a former classmate and accepts a teaching job at the Cherokee Female Seminary.

Nothing prepares her for what she finds there. Her pupils are the daughters of the Cherokee elite—educated and more wealthy than she, and the school is cloaked in mystery. A student drowned in the river last year, and the girls whisper that she was killed by a jealous lover. Willie’s room is the very room the dead girl slept in. The students say her spirit haunts it.

Willie doesn’t believe in ghosts, but when strange things start happening at the school, she isn’t sure anymore. She’s also not sure what to make of a boy from the nearby boys’ school who has taken an interest in her—his past is cloaked in secrets. Soon, even she has to admit that the revenant may be trying to tell her something. . . .

What people are saying:

“This first novel effectively covers a good deal of ground: race and class issues, history, and a compelling ghost and love story are all entwined as plot points are teased out a bit at a time. The uncommon setting and time period add to the appeal . . .”–Booklist

“This debut presents an intriguing look at a little-known piece of American history . . . the well-drawn characters and suspenseful plot should keep readers fully engaged.”–Kirkus

“Gensler makes a solid debut with an eerie and suspenseful work of historical fiction in which everyone is a murder suspect . . . Readers should be drawn in by the mystery and moved by Willie’s struggles to fit in and negotiate her independence.”–Publishers Weekly

Released: June 14, 2011

About the author:

Sonia Gensler grew up in a small Tennessee town and spent her early adulthood collecting impractical degrees from various Midwestern universities. A former high school English teacher, she now writes full time in Oklahoma. So far, her husband and cat are putting up with this. The Revenant is her debut novel. You can visit her at www.soniagensler.com.

Win a copy of FORGIVEN! Details at the end of this post.

May 31, 1904

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show”.
—David Copperfield, Charles Dickens, 1850

With one shaky hand I raised that branch, an inch only. I quaked like an aspen leaf in a tricky breeze. Not from the cold, though there was that. But from the fear.

“Come on out, girl.” The voice of this intruder with the evil snaky eyes rang through the clearing, bell-like in the frost morning.

I eased back deeper into the tangle of chokecherry. Snake-eyes had his back to me, and I fixed my own eyes on the ripped edges at the bottom of his pants leg, watching those frayed threads as the knitted branches that hid me sliced up his form. If I could crawl back silent, if I could just belly back far enough here, if I could get on my feet again, could get enough ground between us so he couldn’t shoot me, I could outrun him. Because when I had to, I could outrun a deer.

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, now.”

Liar. The bruise on my upper arm spoke to that lie. The bruise where he’d grabbed me, surprised me, and I’d twisted around and whanged him good with that fry pan, giving myself just enough time to scrabble into the thicket where I hid now, my stomach on the frozen ground.

Excerpt© 2011 Janet Fox

About the book:

FORGIVEN is the companion novel to FAITHFUL (2010). FORGIVEN is the story of Kula Baker, a young woman living in Yellowstone National Park in 1906. Kula must find her way to San Francisco in order to help her father; while there she encounters love, betrayal, and disaster in the form of the great San Francisco earthquake. Kula must learn that the key to a happy life lies in accepting yourself.

What people are saying:

FORGIVEN has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection for 2011.

“…A riveting, well-written, wonderful story…As I followed Kula Baker from the heart of Yellowstone…to the heart of San Francisco…I felt my own heart racing.”–Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor Book The Underneath

“Absorbing, exciting, and romantic.”–Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Impossible

Release date: June 2, 2011

About the author:

Janet Fox has recently moved from College Station, Texas, to Montana, where she, her husband, and their college age son have a cabin in the mountains not far from Yellowstone. Her writing for children has appeared in Highlights for Children and Spider magazines; her award-winning non-fiction middle grade book, Get Organized Without Losing It (Free Spirit Publishing, 2006), continues to be a top seller. Her debut novel Faithful (Speak/Penguin) was published in 2010 and was a YALSA nominee for Best Fiction for Young Adults and an Amelia Bloomer 2011 Selection from the ALA. She has served as a regional advisor for SCBWI and has taught middle school and high school English/language arts. Janet has an MS in marine geology and she received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in July 2010. Her second novel Forgiven, a sequel to Faithful, is due out in 2011. Visit her at www.janetsfox.com.

Giveaway:

Janet has been kind enough to contribute a copy of FORGIVEN for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada and ends on June 15th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

The first seventeen years and three months of my life were so ordinary they would not be worth the telling. And last May when I came home from high school in Spokane to help Ma, I thought fate had yanked me back to Mica Creek and I would be stuck there on the farm, helping out one more time, one more time until I was buried in the Mica Creek cemetery alongside my brother Henry. I had prayed that I would find a way to get out of Mica Creek. I forgot to stipulate that I would like to get out of Mica Creek without the constant company of my mother and by some means other than my own two feet.

But then, briefly, I was famous. I had my picture in The New York World twice: my before picture in a black silk dress with leg-o’-mutton sleeves; and my after picture in an ankle-baring skirt and brandishing a gun and dagger. Because of the way our adventure ended, we couldn’t talk about it afterward. But I kept my journal. Sometimes, late at night when I was still awake, I would rummage through to the bottom of my hope chest and find my journal. I would read it and remind myself of the one year in my life that was not ordinary.

Excerpt© 2011 Carole Estby Dagg

About the book:

In 1896, Clara Estby and her mother Helga packed small satchels with first-aid supplies, compass and maps, canteens, pistol, and a curling iron. They headed east along the railroad tracks, planning to walk over 4,000 miles from their farm near Spokane, Washington to New York City in time to win a $10,000 bet. Battling blizzard and flash flood and meeting the whole range of Victorian society from hobos to the next President of the United States, they were out to win that bet—and prove what women alone could do. The book is based on the true story of the author’s great-aunt and great-grandmother.

What people are saying:

“The journey in itself is amazing, but Dagg’s tender portrayal of a mother and daughter who learn to appreciate and forgive each other makes it unforgettable.”–Starred review, Publishers Weekly

“Readers will enjoy the feminist adventures…”–Kirkus

Released: April 4, 2011

About the author:

Carole Estby Dagg is a former librarian who spent fifteen years reading six million words of background material, writing, and revising her first book,The Year We Were Famous. Under the supervision of a bossy cat, she writes in Everett, Washington, and a converted woodshed on San Juan Island. You can visit her at www.CaroleEstbyDagg.com.

Giveaway:

Carole has been kind enough to contribute some bookmarks and a miniature The Year We Were Famous notepad for a giveaway!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada and ends on May 11th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Chapter 1

Tuesday, May 22, 1990

West Berlin

If we had known it would eventually involve the Kremlin, the French Ambassador and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we would have left that body in the river and called the Polizei like any normal German citizen, but we were Americans and addicted to solving other peoples’ problems, so naturally, we got involved.

It began like every Tuesday after school. All the other kids from the American school on the army base at Zehlendorf went to the playground, or the afterschool matinee, or the scout meeting at the community center, but Giselle and Vivian and I took the S-bahn to our music lesson in downtown Berlin. Ordinarily, Vivian would get out her advanced algebra book, and Giselle would disappear under headphones with a new cassette from the latest girl rock star as soon as we found seats on the train. If she remembered to bring extra headphones, I’d listen along, but usually I worked on writing my own music: minuets for the violin, mostly. Not nearly as hip as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” but I had to start somewhere, and classical music was what I knew. Not that I’d admit this to just anyone, but classical music was what I loved—more than anything.

We were only a week away from the big Solo and Ensemble Contest in Paris. We’d been working at our competition piece, Pachelbel’s Canon, since Christmas. Our music teacher thought we had a shot at first place in the twelve to thirteen year olds age group, and Giselle’s dad, General Johnson, had bragged to the entire brigade that we were going to clean up, so no pressure or anything. Not that I didn’t love winning, but for me the big deal was that it was our first trip to Paris, and it would be our last time ever to perform together as a trio before the Army moved us back to the States.

Excerpt© 2011 Rosanne Parry

About the book:

It is 1990 and the wall that separated Communist East Berlin from the capitalist West has finally come down. For Jody this means moving back the States with her dad who’s retiring from the army and saying goodbye the the two best friends she’s ever had.

Before they part ways the three girls plan one last adventure a trip to Paris where they’ll compete in a classical music contest as a string trio.  Winning will (almost) make up for the fact that they’ll soon be separated. But as they walk home from their final music lesson the girls witness a terrible crime and must act to save a Soviet soldier’s life. Getting to Paris becomes urgent as the girls discover that the border between friend and enemy is not as clear as it once was.

In this fast-paced tale of music, friendship and adventure, Rosanne Parry, author of  Heart of a Shepherd, offers a sensitive portrayal of military families at a pivotal moment in history.

What people are saying:

Second Fiddle will be featured as a Spring Indy Next book at independent bookstores all over the country!

“The action may take place in the ’90s, but this reads like first-class historical fiction; Parry (Heart of a Shepherd) vividly conjures the political tensions of the period, the challenges of life as an army brat, and the redemptive power of music.”–Publishers Weekly

Released: March 22, 2011 from Random House

About the author:

Rosanne Parry moved to Germany in the spring of 1990 just as the Berlin Wall was coming down. She ran away to Paris for one glorious weekend with her soldier husband, first-born baby and an enormous purple stroller. The three of them are best friends to this day. Rosanne is the author of Heart of a Shepherd, which has been honored as a Washington Post’s Best Kid’s Book of the Year, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of the Year and a Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year. She also plays the violin for which she has never been honored with a prize of any kind. She now lives with her husband in a old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon, where they raise four children, three chickens, five kinds of fruit and their voices in the occasional song. Visit Rosanne at rosanneparry.com.

Win Between Shades of Gray and other prizes! Details at the end of this post.

They took me in my nightgown.

Thinking back, the signs were there—family photos burned in the fireplace, Mother sewing her best silver and jewelry into the lining of her coat late at night, and Papa not returning from work. My younger brother, Jonas, was asking questions. I asked questions, too, but perhaps I refused to acknowledge the signs. Only later did I realize that Mother and Father intended we escape. We did not escape.

We were taken.

June 14, 1941. I had changed into my nightgown and settled in at my desk to write my cousin Joana a letter. I opened a new ivory writing tablet and a case of pens and pencils, a gift from my aunt for my fifteenth birthday.

The evening breeze floated through the open window over my desk, waltzing the curtain from side to side. I could smell the lily of the valley that Mother and I had planted two years ago. Dear Joana.

It wasn’t a knocking. It was an urgent booming that made me jump in my chair. Fists pounded on our front door. No one stirred inside the house. I left my desk and peered out into the hallway. My mother stood flat against the wall facing our framed map of Lithuania, her eyes closed and her face pulled with an anxiety I had never seen. She was praying.

“Mother,” said Jonas, only one of his eyes visible through the crack in his door, “are you going to open it? It sounds as if they might break it down.”

Excerpt© 2011 Ruta Sepetys

About the book:

Fifteen-year old Lina Vilkas fights for her life amidst Stalin’s terror during WWII.

What people are saying:

“A harrowing page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“An important book that deserves the widest possible readership.”—Booklist, starred review

“Sepetys’ flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A gripping story that gives young people a window into a shameful, but likely unfamiliar history.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“A brilliant story of love and survival.”—Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Wintergirls

“A document long overdue.”—Richard Peck, Newbery Award-winning author of A Year Down Yonder

“Beautiful and unforgettable.”—Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor winning author of Hitler Youth

Released: March 22, 2011

About the author:

Ruta Sepetys was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. She enjoyed bleak stories as a child and told anyone who would listen that she was going to marry Roald Dahl. Her debut novel, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, which will be published by Philomel/Penguin in the US, has also sold in over twenty countries. In addition to music and writing, Ruta enjoys teaching at the university, collecting eccentric art, and traveling with her dreamy husband. Her adventures have inspired dozens of stories and since she has intimate knowledge of heartbreak and teen angst, she enjoys writing books for young adults. Ruta’s degrees have nothing to do with literature but do involve failed attempts at becoming an opera singer, an investment banker, and Roald Dahl’s wife. You can visit her at www.rutasepetys.com or learn more about her book at www.betweenshadesofgray.com.

Giveaway:

Ruta has been kind enough to contribute a signed ARC of Between Shades of Gray, bookmarks, and a keychain for a giveaway!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada and ends on April 2nd at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win a Haunted T-shirt! Details at the end of this post.

The Forest, Early Evening

Through the skull in my fireplace, I watch her. Does she know, I wonder? Does she sense my presence? It is hard to say. But I suppose it does not really matter. We are connected in ways she does not yet understand—ways that even I find curious. I am Baba Yaga, and she is Anne, and our destinies have mingled, twisted tightly together even before she found her way to my forest. Anne Michaelson—the ordinary girl who wasn’t ordinary at all. The one who brought Anastasia out from my hut and captured the heart of a foolish man named Ethan. The one who weeps quietly, night after night, because she saved a girl who chose to die, and this does not sit easily on her heart. I would help her, I think, if I were not what I am. But as that cannot change, at least for now, I watch. I offer no balm. No words of comfort.

I am the glorious Baba Yaga. And while this is not a simple thing, it is what it is. I am the one who changes others. The Bone Mother. The Crone. For ever and ever, I have flown the skies in my mortar. Stirred the air with my pestle. Ground my enemies to dust or chewed them whole with my iron teeth and placed their heads on pikes outside my hut. I have come and gone as I pleased. Danced barefoot in my forest. Felt the sting of icy rain on my skin. Ridden fast through the woods with my horsemen. Taken lovers when I pleased. Reveled in the summer air. Laughed with glee as autumn approached. My season. The time of change. The wonderful approach of death.

Excerpt© 2011 Joy Preble

About the book:

“So here is what you must know. You have more to do. The witch is not done with you. And neither am I.”

Anne Michaelson is trying to forget everything that happened last year. Spending time alone with her boyfriend, Ben Logan, usually helps. But no matter how hard she tries to move on, Anne still misses the spark she felt with Ethan. Anne doesn’t dare tell anyone about that… she’s got bigger secrets to keep anyway. A mysterious wild-haired woman is stalking Anne, haunting her wherever she goes. Anne’s search for the woman’s identity exposes deep and startling revelations – including the possible source of Anne’s powers. With her heart torn between Ben and Ethan, Anne’s life is about to get a lot more complicated. Will Anne discover the truth about her destiny? Or will the longings of her own heart get in the way?

What people are saying:

“Equal parts spooky, sassy, sinister and sexy, Joy Preble’s Haunted lingers beyond the last page.”–Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Tantalize, Eternal, and Blessed

Released: February 1, 2011

About the author:

Joy Preble grew up in Chicago and moved to Texas where she learned to use the phrase ‘y’all” without any hint of irony and developed a passion for country music and barbecue. Joy has an English degree from Northwestern University, teaches high school students when she’s not busy writing, and is married to the guy she met her first week in college when she mistakenly served a volleyball into his stomach rather than over the net. Haunted, the sequel to Dreaming Anastasia, is her second novel. You can visit her at www.joypreble.com.

Giveaway:

Joy has been kind enough to contribute a Haunted T-shirt for for a giveaway!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post.

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The contest is open in the US and Canada and ends on March 30th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!