My Heart Be Damned is out!!

Yaaaaaaaaaay! It's out! My Heart Be Damned is officially on sale.

Thank you everyone so far who has bought it or offered congratulations. I'm sooo excited. I'm officially a published author and the feeling is both amazing and terrifying!

If you're interested in links to buy, please see below.

Amazon paperback

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble paperback

B&N Nook

1000 Followers

GUYS!!

We've reached 1000 followers!

Do you know how exciting this is? I remember when YAtopia was just a discussion. Was just a thought one person had and decided to make a reality. And now we have 1000 followers.

On behalf of everyone who blogs with YAtopia, I'd like to thank each and every follower we have for sticking with us over the last year and a half and participating in our events, and commenting on our posts. It means a lot to us.

Thank you.

Also, stay tuned for more information coming soon about exactly how thankful we are *wink wink*

Teentopia: Aishwarya and Melis

Teentopia is a monthly feature here on YAtopia where we ask real teens questions about what they like to read and how they choose the books they read. For more information and more Teentopia posts, click here.

This week, we're interviewing two students, Aishwarya and Melis both between the age of 12-15.

Aishwarya in blue.

Melis in red.
 

What are some of your favorite recently-read books?

Jane Eyre
Anderson's Fairytales
Ghost Box 
Danni Minogue autobiography

N/A

How do you find out about and choose books that aren't assigned in school?

Sometimes I see them on adverts and sometimes when I go book shopping and I read the summary, I might like it.
 
By friends recommending books or I just buy one from the shop.

On a related note, do you read reviews before you decide to read a book? Where?

No, I first read the summary.

No, because everyone has different views on books.

Do you read author's blogs/facebooks/twitters? If yes: before you read their book or after - and what kind of content do you like to see?

No, I don't.

No, because if I read a blog about a book, I think it ruins the experience of the surprise of the book.

What kind of covers draw your attention?

Something intriguing like a scary picture or something. Or a famous celebrity because I love autobiographies and Jacqueline Wilson books with bright colours.

Ones that don't give away too much information about the book.

Do you feel like YA books accurately represent teen culture? How so?

Not really because if you're a teenager, you can read an adult book if you want to.

No, because some Young Adult books are too childish and some are too inappropriate.

Is there anything (themes, character types, genres, time periods, etc) you'd like to see more of in YA books?

N/A

Not really.

Anything you want to see less of?

No.

Less inappropriate stuff because they stereotypically describe and make out bad things about teenagers.

How do you read books? (paper, e-reader, phone, audio, etc)

Paper.

I like the feeling of touching and reading paperback or hardback books.

What do you think about all the YA books that have recently been made into movies?


Really good because some people might see the movie and want to actually read the book.




I think they aren't good because it ruins the experience of visualising the characters the way you want to because they are already there.

What book have you read that you think deserves more attention?

Hans Anderson Fairytales.

N/A

What novel are you most looking forward to in 2012?

A book by Chanelle Gray 'My Heart Be Damned' - *please note that I totally did not bribe her into saying this*

Any good ones that aren't boring and ones that can easily make you feel like a part of the story.

Do you use any book-specific sites to keep track of what you've read?

No

No, but I use an app on my phone that helps me keep track of the books I have read.
 

What's the most important element to you: characters, plot, writing style?

Plot, because that's the whole point of the story.

Everything, because if the plot is a let down, then the story isn't good, even if there are really good characters.

Have you ever seen a book trailer? If so, did it make you want to read the book? What do you think about them?

Yes, once in my English class and it looked really good and I wanted to read it.

No, because I have never seen a book trailer.

Thank you both for answering these questions! 

Book Worlds

Have you ever read a book where you wish you could close your eyes, reopen them and the book world would become your own? Where the characters are real, the world building is real, the supernatural is real?

I want to hear about it!!

But first, I'll share mine.

I'll admit, most of my reason for this is because the world is written so wonderfully. I also love the idea of witches and swamps and gorgeous boys that can disappear with the wind. Love!

It's obvious why I want this world to be real...Etienne!! I want him to be real and I want him to want me and that is all.

This book blew me away. I loved the world, the characters, the Darkling, Mal!! And I want a cool super power. Seriously, I do. I want to be Alina furthermore.

If I'm going to be in this world, I totally want to be an angel. And, Clara, if you don't want Christian - I'll have him.

Once again, gotta love witches. If I was to be alive in this book, I'd need to be a witch like Lena and have cool hair that twists with power. Awesome! I wouldn't want Ethan to be my boyfriend, but he's pretty cool. The magic is impressive, though, and Amna's food sounds off the chain!

Right, your turn. What books do you wish were real and why?

What's in a Rating?

Some of us read just to read. Some of us read and put our opinions up on websites, forums, blogs, etc. If you're one of the latter, this blog post is for you.

It strikes me that there is no uniform way of rating. Something that someone says they've really enjoyed, save a few niggly problems could earn a 3 star rating from them, but a 5 star rating from another. Others will mostly not enjoy a book but still give it 3 stars, where others will give it 1. And I know that choosing what stars you think a book deserves can be individual to opinion, but how opposed are we to a uniform way of rating.

For example, maybe we could make it a percentage way?

1 star = 0-15% enjoyment factor

2 stars = 16-30% enjoyment factor

3 stars = 31-55% enjoyment factor

4 stars = 55-75% enjoyment factor

5 stars = 76% and upwards enjoyment factor

Something like that? What decisions factor in to what star you rate something? Isn't the point of a book to keep you entertained (whether it's by screaming in horror, panting with lust, heart racing with thrill or eyes wet with sadness). 

I'll be honest, sometimes when I browse Goodreads or Amazons, I don't understand the ratings given to some books. People who claim to have really enjoyed something, but rated lowly, or vice versa couldn't finish a book but still rated a 3 or 4 star rating?

I'd love to hear what you guys think in the comments!

The Great Dress Debate

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So there's been a lot of debate going around the internet about 'Dress Covers'. Some people are so over them, while others still appreciate the pretty. I thought we could discuss what we think of dress covers.

Firstly, I think it's important that we remember unless you've self published, you can have little to nothing to do with what goes on your cover. You might want a girl all in leather, or in a hoodie and jeans, but you might get a girl in a ball gown. It's also very easy to judge a book when you first see it and compare it to the description and decide, just from those few lines, that the cover has nothing to do with the book. As an author with a dress cover, I can safely say that my character wears that exact dress in the book. It does fit the book - but you wouldn't know that from the description.

Then I think it's also good we remember that sometimes, getting your book in a bookstore can be reliant on the cover. And quite obviously, dresses on books seems to be what bookstores are buying. Maybe there's a reason for all these beautiful gowns.

Maybe there isn't.

Let's take a look at some dress covers.

Books where the dress fits

All of these are gorgeous, and all of them are fitting to the book. For example, The Selection. The main character, America, is in a reality show to become the new Queen. She has to dress up and wear beautiful gowns. Hence the cover. Masque of the Red Death is also fitting because the characters enjoy wearing lovely dresses and corsets when they go out. Arise, well the character dies in a white dress and therefore stays in the white dress. And what else do all of these covers have in common? Well, they're beautiful. Absolutely stunning.

Books where the dress is gorgeous, but doesn't fit

Each of these covers is absolutely stunning. And definitely eye-catching. But, from what I know, these dresses aren't actually used in the book. Fallen - the main character goes to a dank, dark boarding school. No dresses there. Shatter Me has a main character who is locked away in a prison for a long time and doesn't have the time to attend a beautiful ball. And Everneath (which is my favourite cover of the three) doesn't have a scene with a gorgeous red dress. But the imagery on these covers is very powerful and would make me pick up the book on look alone.

I have to be honest, it was a lot harder finding a cover with a dress on it that featured in the book than it was to find one that didn't. However, I'll be the first to admit that I'm attracted to pretty things. And as a girl, I like beautiful dresses. I can't help it. I love dress covers. 

But, one problem with these gorgeous dress covers is that it's not exactly male friendly. I don't know about guys you know, but the ones in my life wouldn't feel too comfortable walking around with a cover featuring a kick-ass dress on the front.

But enough about what I think. What do you think about dress covers? What have been some of your favourite and least favourite dress covers and why?

Also - and unrelated - Harlequin Teen are hosting a giveaway over at my personal blog, and it's super easy. So drop on over and enter!

To Pinterest or not to Pinterest?

Pinterest...You have to have heard of it. But in case you haven't:

Pinterest is a social networking site that centres around 'pinning' images to pinboards that you create. And these boards can be as random or specific as you want.

Now you might be wondering why I'm talking about Pinterest on a book blog. Well! I think Pinterest can be a great tool for writers and readers. And here's why.

As a writer, we often take inspiration from a number of different things. One of which can be pictures or places. Instead of clogging up your blog or twitter feeds posting pictures of things that inspire you, you can pin them to a board on Pinterest.

For example, I might want to write a story set in Paris. So I make a board dedicated to Paris and while I'm scouring the net for pictures, I can pin them into my Paris Board for a) one place all these pictures are stored and b) somewhere readers interested in knowing what inspired me can go to for these pictures.

You can pin anything with an image. Recipes. Clothes. Furniture. Decoration ideas. Tourist locations. And wherever you find the original picture, the pinned image will take you back to that website.

It's good for promotion too. Others can pin your book cover from your blog, Amazon or Goodreads, driving traffic towards your book. And who doesn't want promotion? You can use it for self promotion too. Posting pictures from your blog so when people click on it, it'll take them right to your site.

Writers can use Pinterest to post pictures of their writing life too! The computer they use to type. Their desk space. Places they go to write. Contracts. ARCs in their boxes. Which links in to readers.

Want to know what a new author is up to? Or your favourite author? If they have Pinterest you can see what motivates them, see images of things mentioned in the books, places, fashion of characters, movie actor choices etc. You can comment on these pictures and get into dialogue with other readers too!

There is so much to do with Pinterest. I think it's a great tool. Not only for writing/reading, but to be social. I've found so many great recipes I want to try! And I've found other books to read on there too.

Any questions about Pinterest? Ask in the comments and I'll try to answer. Also, if you're already on Pinterest, check me out too.

MY HEART BE DAMNED COVER REVEAL!!

It's here!! It's here!! The day is here!!

I'm so excited. So, so excited. I don't want to keep you all waiting, so without further ado..

MY HEART BE DAMNED

Release date: 15th July 2012.c

Add to Goodreads

If you're a Hunter, there are only three things you must know about the Damned. The Damned can't lie, can't live without a body, and can't leave you alone.

Amerie Carter has the blood of a Hunter, unfortunately. She is one of a rare line of women who, upon her sixteenth birthday, will come into extraordinary powers used to hunt the Damned; escaped souls from Hell who take up residence in human bodies. It's supposed to be her sweet sixteen, but Amerie has never dreaded a day more, and her worst fears are confirmed as the celebration turns tragic when her mother is killed.

Grief-stricken, Amerie vows to never hunt a day in her life. She's determined to hide behind normalcy, attending school, hanging out with her friends and working an after-school job at The Hut. All Amerie wants is to be left alone. But try telling the Damned that. The harder Amerie tries to ignore her powers, the more the Damned come looking for her.

When an attack leaves one of Amerie's friends in the hospital, and endangers the lives of her fellow students, she knows she has no choice: Hunt or Be Hunted. Thankfully, the gorgeous, secretive, and so-off-limits Marshall offers to train Amerie to take out her supernatural enemies. But training with Marshall means leading lying to her friends, her family, and confronting the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.

Amerie soon discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide, Marshall’s secrets might kill her before the Damned get the chance.

So, what do you think? Let me know!

My Giveaway ends tomorrow!

Because I love you fellow YAtopians so much, I don't want you to miss out on one of five chances to win any 2012 debut release of your choice. Head on over to my blog for a chance to win and it's so simple and easy and it ends tomorrow.

Ready...

Set...

GO!!!

On Needing One Another

You know what I'm thankful for? Every single one of you. (No, this isn't a late Thanksgiving post haha). But do you know why I'm thankful for you? Because I need you. Yeah, that's right. I need you.

I need my online friends to provide a reprieve away from the stresses of my offline world.

I need authors to write books that take me away from everything for a while. Make me so immersed in their world that I don't ever want to leave. Make me fall in love with fictional characters so badly that I want them to be real.

I need reviewers to write reviews so I can check out a book before I spend my hard earned (and not nearly enough!) money on it.

I need bloggers and blog readers to provide an interaction that I can either join in with or watch, but both give me a sense of belonging.

I need my agent - who talks me down off the ledge when I'm having a panic.

I need my editor who helps make my work better and wants to see it do well as much as I do.

And when I didn't have an agent/editor, I needed to want one because it made the quest to publishment that much realer.

Get where I'm going with this? We all need each other. Right? Reviewers love to read. You can't read without authors writing. Authors love to write. You can't write without an audience to write for. Editors love to aquire books and agents love to represent books, but you can't do this without authors querying/subbing to you.

What I need most of all, though, out of everything up there (well maybe not more than my agent - she rocks!) is for everyone to respect each other. Stop bickering. Stop writing personal things about one another on public networks. Stop writing unhelpful, scathing reviews and expecting authors to appreciate them. Can we all just hug now?

Internet Etiquette

So this is going to be a short post today on Internet Etiquette, and here's the thing: I know it's a double edged sword. Because those who have good internet attitude are the ones reading blog posts like this already. The ones who don't need someone like me to come along and tell them how to act. But if I can get one person this post refers to to come along and read this and learn from it, I call that a success. Right?!

I spend a lot of time lurking around. Lurking in forums, lurking on twitter, lurking on blog posts, lurking on Facebook etc. Sometimes I comment. Sometimes I don't. But I watch. I watch a lot and what I see coming from some individuals is seriously appalling.

The beauty and problem in the internet is that you can be everywhere from the comfy spot on your sofa or in your bedroom. In fact, you can be anyone, if you want. This means that people have this sense of security. You can say whatever because there's not going to be any physical repercussions. No one's going to come to your house and call you out face to face. Which is a cowards way of thinking. These same people are the ones who leave malicious reviews on Goodreads. They are the ones who leave anonymous comments on blog posts. They are the ones who create Twitter accounts just to heckle people. They are the ones who send abusive emails and purposely create arguments on forums.

It has to stop. There is an etiquette we should all be following. And here's what I think it is:

• Be respectful. Sounds simple enough, but often, people say nasty things to others without thinking of how that's going to make that person feel. How would you like if that was done to you?
• Be graceful. Okay, your dream agent rejects you. Grumble to yourself as you read through the email again and MOVE ON. There is no point in replying with abuse. It isn't going to get you anywhere and it'll end up blacklisting you with other agents because, guess what, AGENTS TALK.
• Be civil. This goes for everyone. Starting up hate campaigns on Twitter or blogs or forums about an author, a book, an actress, a wrongful querier isn't the most mature or civil thing to do. You have an issue with someone? Moan to your friends, in private, and get over it. Things happen. A book isn't for everyone. A querier might have been rude. But dedicating your time into publicly humiliation? You're better than that.
• Be positive. I see a lot of people who only comment to be negative. On a forum, someone will post about a new agent they have found and want to share. Mr. Negative will come along and begin to grumble and complain that this agent has no sales. Well duh! They're new. Of course they won't. This same Mr. Negative will reply to agents/editors/authors to disagree with whatever they have posted. It's fine to disagree. It's fine to have a different opinion. But it's not cool to set out just to be negative about everything.
• Be Real. If you wouldn't say or do something to someone's face, don't do it online. If you would be scared to go up to a writer and tell them that their work sucks to their face, then don't write a blog post about it. Just be you and remember that a computer is not for hiding behind.

And that is my etiquette list! Sorry if this is a downer post, but I've seen a lot of bad attitudes around the internet globe as recent and I fell like I have to do something about it. Agree with my list? Disagree? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Have a nice day!c

New Years Resolutions

I know, I know. We all make them and then we give up after about a month.

But even though we all have the normal 'eat healthy, go to the gym more, quit smoking' type resolutions that look good on paper but actually, you don't have the time to go to the gym, or you really fancy that cupcake after a stressful day, and that cigarette is the only thing keeping you from quitting your job, so how about your writing/reading resolutions?

Let's make some of those!

For example, some of mine would be...

1) Stop using the word 'just'.
2) Try to write a romance with no paranormal twist.
3) Try to write that story I'm too scared to write.
4) Think of better chapter titles.
5) Read more contemporary titles.
6) Move from 75 books read to 85.
7) Buy a bigger bookshelf!!

So there's mine. What're yours?

And don't forget about the pitch to Entangled editors coming up on the 25th January!

American Horror Story anyone?

Okay, so it's not strictly writing or reading related, but sometimes we all need a break from that, don't we? And what better way to take a break than discussing my new favourite TV show.

There are ways to tie in this TV show with writing and reading. For example, the writers of this show are very talented. They know how to throw twists at you. How to get readers to practically salivate with need for the next episode. To sit there and be simultaneously shocked and enthralled with what's happening. To unfold the larger picture bit by bit.

I have to say, this show fascinates me. For me, it's the love/hate feeling I have towards the characters. Ben, the father. He's a cheating douche. He has some seriously messed up desires, and yet you can tell he genuinely loves his family. Violet is an angsty teenager but I wouldn't know what to do in her position either. And Tate. Tate, Tate, Tate. He's one sick, messed up individual, and yet...I love him.

If there was a book like this, I'd be all over it. The twists, the relationship between characters, the morbid scenes and creepy ghosts. Love, love, love.

So have you been watching? Do you love it too? I'd love to get a conversation going about it in the comments!

Where I ask what YOU want

As the readers of this blog, YOU are the most important voices. Not us as the bloggers, but you the readers. So what I would like is for you guys to answer the following questions in the comments. This blog is for you guys and I want to make sure you're getting the most out of this blog as possible. Here goes!!

1) What is your favourite kind of post to read about on YAtopia?

2) Your least favourite?

3) What could we do that's more helpful?

4) Anything you'd like more of?

5) Is the layout and scheduling good for you? Too many posts, not enough?

6) What first drew you here?

7) If we were to hold a Giveaway, what kind would you like and what prizes should we offer?

That's it guys! You don't have to answer all, but whatever you can answer will be amazing. Thanks!

NaNoWriMo anyone?

Anyone participating this year? I wanted to, but I'm trying to slow down with my writing. I can get out a novel within a month anyway, which tends to mean that I rush through it all and have loads of things I need to add, edit, change during revisions.

But that doesn't mean that's everyone's problem! So, are you participating and what's your username? Put them in the comments and add each other so we can all support and rally and cheer!

A quick reminder, though...

Agents have been tweeting, blogging and discussing about their influx of submissions come January. If you're writing a novel in a month, you're going to need more than December to edit, so take your time and really make sure your story is the best it can be before querying. That means no January queries unless it is perfeeeeect.

I wish you all luck and I hope you're all winners :)

What to include in YA novels?

Simple answer to that: EVERYTHING!!

I've seen a lot of questions around the internet recently on new writers, or even people new to YA, asking what is deemed acceptable to write about in YA.

So in simple terms, if it happens to teens, you can write about it.

There's a lot of controversial topics out there. Teenage pregnancy, sex scenes, swearing, abuse, kidnap, drinking, drugs, smoking! It happens, so it can happen in your book too.

Of course, there will be editors and agents who have preferences. But if you feel that your book needs for your characters to have sex, or to get into a relationship with an older person then write it. Write what the book needs, not what you feel the market needs. And when you decide that you want to find an agent and get it published, look for the agents you know represent topics like yours. Research into books and find out who the agent was.

Trust me, there really isn't much you can't put in YA. There's even YA erotica that's on the up and up. Don't be afraid to write your story. Seriously, don't. Just write what you want to write, read up on the books that'll be your competition, that'll be in your genre and have fun!

And to finish this post, here are a list of books I personally know of that deal with the topics above:

Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Hate List - Jennifer Brown

Stolen - Lucy Christopher

Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles

Forget You - Jennifer Echols

The Duff - Kody Keplinger

Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers

Forbidden - Tabithua Samuza

Giveaway over at Chanelle's Blog!

So it's not really a contest more than a giveaway, and it's super easy to join in. All you have to do is be a follower? Simple, right? And I think most of you are anyway. And there are THREE chances to win a book of your choosing. Any book you've wanted but couldn't justify buying? Or just haven't gotten around to buying yet.

Deadline is the 22nd, so don't delay, JOIN TODAY!!

Carrier of the Mark is OUT NOW!

Oh precious blog followers...

Guess what is officially in stores as of Tuesday???

That's right.

CARRIER OF THE MARK!

You guys have to go get it. Seriously. It's made of win. Check out my own review of it here and it's Goodreads page here.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go get it!

Oh and when you read it, come back here and let us know what you think :D

Random Giveaway winner

It's Thursday, so you know what this means?

Winner time!

I'd like to thank everyone who entered and especially those who added My Heart Be Damned to your Goodreads shelves. You guys are amazing.

But without further ado, the winner is...

HOOT!

Hoot, drop me an email at chanelle(@)chanellegray(.)com for your prize. You have 24 hours or I pick another winner.

Thanks again and look out for more contests soon.

Congratulations Chanelle!

I interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging to bring you this important update:

Our very own Chanelle Gray has sold her novel, My Heart Be Damned, to be published, tentatively, in the Fall of 2012 by kNight Romance.

 *TOSSES CONFETTI*

Here is the PM announcement:

Chanelle Gray's MY HEART BE DAMNED, about a young woman trapped in a supernatural grudge who must, against her will, hunt Damned souls on earth while keeping her friends, passing math, and fighting a growing attraction to a mysterious boy who may be the only one who can help her… or the only one who can kill her, to Tracey Mitchell at kNight Romance romance, by Victoria Marini at Gelfman Schneider.


Head on over to Chanelle's blog and congratulate her! You can also add her book to your Goodreads shelf!