Bookanistas: The Dinocalypse Trilogy by Chuck Wendig...with a giveaway!

Welcome to Bookanistas Thursday, in which a bunch of super cool authors (and me) talk about books you might not have heard of yet. Because we all need excuses to buy more books. That's what I keep telling my husband, anyway.

Actually, come to think of it, I don't need an excuse at all.

But anyway. Today, I'd like to tell you about the Dinocalypse trilogy, because psychic dinosaurs are always cool. This series starts with DINOCALYPSE NOW, which is already out, and continues with BEYOND DINOCALYPSE, which hits shelves June 18th. So there's just enough time to read book 1. BAZINGA!

Here's the official blurby thing for DINOCALYPSE NOW, courtesy of Goodreads:

Spirit of the Century presents Dinocalypse Now! When the Century Club is called in to prevent the assassination of FDR, it's just another day on the job - but what they discover puts not just the President, but the entire world in jeopardy. With psychic dinosaurs taking over Manhattan and beyond, it's up to Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and the other Centurions to save humanity - from extinction!

Now, I have a confession to make--I just finished a book for Evil Hat Productions which is set in the same world as DINOCALYPSE. I work for them. I am biased. However, in some ways, that makes me a little more critical rather than less. Let's face it; if you wrote a book for a series, and the rest of the series SUCKED, that would be bad. So it was a tremendous relief to me when I opened up the book and began laughing within minutes of reading. I dare you to read about when FDR beans a psychosaur with a microphone stand and NOT laugh.

The best way to describe this series is like an Indiana Jones movie, with all the action and wisecracks and impossible odds and weirdness. It starts off fast and never lets go. And one of the best things about it is that it's clean enough and FUN enough to appeal both to me and to my 9-year-old son. In fact, shortly after my copy arrived, he claimed it and won't give it back. Endorsement-wise, it doesn't get much better than that, and he doesn't work for Evil Hat. :)

Now, one thing that my EH connection gets me is TEH COOL STUFF. I have a copy of DINOCALYPSE NOW, plus a Spirit of the Century collector's patch, plus a Spirit of the Century pin. Enter to win via the Rafflecopter below, open to US residents only. Give it to an adventure-loving kid you know or keep it for yourself. I promise not to tell.


a Rafflecopter giveaway And while you're at it, check out these awesome Bookanistas!

Lenore Appelhans  is blown away by REBOOT by Amy Tintera

Tracy Banghart & Debra Driza join THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca book blitz!

Corrine Jackson is stunned by BREAKING BEAUTIFUL by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Nikki Katz  wonders at THE GRAVE WINNER by Lindsey Loucks

Gretchen McNeil talks TRUTH OR DARE by Jacqueline Green

Elana Johson admires INSOMNIA by Jenn Johannson

Tracey Neithercott celebrates THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jacqueline Moriarty

Katy Upperman fawns over FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta

Rebecca Behrens is wowed by THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Bookanistas: The Collector

It's been a tremendously long time since I've passed on a book recommendation, and that's a problem that must be solved. Okay, it's probably not that urgent, but we all know how much I like to exaggerate. Anyway, welcome to Bookanista Thursday! We've got new blood in the Bookanista circle, so make sure to check it out. We're chatting up books you might not have heard of. You can add them to your TBR pile and then blame US. We don't mind.

Today, I'm talking about THE COLLECTOR by Victoria Scott. Have a blurb! You know you want one.

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried. (Summary and cover courtesy of Goodreads.)

I think this summary says it all--I expected one of those bad boy narrators that you love to hate or hate to love or some combination of confused emotions, and that's exactly what I got. Dante is just such a rhymes-with-crass, but he does it with the kind of humor and swagger that makes you root for him anyway. I couldn't decide if I wanted the good girl to redeem him or him to bring her over to the dark-and-charming side. This was a fun, entertaining read that would absolutely appeal to people who liked Lisa Desrochers's PERSONAL DEMONS. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

Luckily, I have these other recommended reads to tide me over...

FIRST…Jessica Love welcomes our FIVE NEW BOOKANISTAS!
Corrine Jackson adores CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL by Louise Rozett
Shelli Johannes-Wells hails HYSTERIA by Megan Miranda
Stasia Ward Kehoe celebrates YALSA’s TEEN LIT DAY
Nikki Katz raves about ROOTLESS by Chris Howard
Gretchen McNeil adores UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody
Rebecca Behrens andTracey Neithercott share why they’re excited to be newbie Bookanistas

The Post Writing Fun

So I finished Sally Slick and sent the manuscript off to critiquers. I'm not sure about other writers, but there's always a funny feeling in the Carrie Brain after I finish a book. I feel like the world has somehow shifted an inch to the right while I wasn't looking--everything's still where it's supposed to be but it all feels a little altered somehow. So in the spirit of distracting myself from the weirdness AND rewarding myself for writing all the words, I try to make the week post-book a lot of fun.

For starters, I went out and got a copy of Axe Cop. This is one of my favorite comics EVAR. It makes me snarf things out my nose, and this time I swear I'm not exaggerating. It's that funny, and the best part is that it's clean enough for me to share with my kids. It's written by a five-year-old, so yeah. I cannot recommend this book more highly--you can check out the web version to see more, but the book is definitely worth it for all the behind the scenes commentary. And right now, the illustrator of Axe Cop is offering a bunch of really cool artwork to help fund his upcoming wedding. Personally, I think this is a great opportunity to support a snarfworthy artist AND twue wuv all at the same time. You should check it out.

Also, I got a copy of a farging hilarious card game called WE DIDN'T PLAYTEST THIS AT ALL. It will live in my purse for the rest of eternity, because it's fast (like a couple of minutes per game), my kids can play it without my having to gloss over any complicated rules or pervy bits, and it contains ninjas, zombies, and kitten ambushes. Let me tell you, there's nothing funner than screaming, "KITTEN AMBUSH!" in the middle of a bar. I tried it. I'm an expert now.

The reason we were in the bar was so my husband could give a talk and then get his head shaved to help support children's cancer research. This is where I give you the obligatory reminder that he's raising funds for MOAR children's cancer research, and we'd both tremendously appreciate any help in donations or word spreadery.

I told them to stop cutting there, but they didn't listen.

Man of the Year

I'm just going to come right out and say it: MY HUSBAND ROCKS THE CASBAH! Let's pretend we all know what a casbah is and why anyone would want to rock it, shall we? Anyway, he's cool for a number of reasons, including the time where he saved me from a swarm of bees and that other time where I said, "Hey, would you mind cutting this watermelon in half with a katana for me on camera?" and he said, "Of course not!" I mean, seriously. He fruit ninjaed for me, and that's true love right there.

Of course, there's also the part where he inspired my last book, and the part where he survived cancer and then became a pediatric bone marrow transplanter. If I put his story--the whole, real, unvarnished thing--into a book, people wouldn't believe it. And I'm so happy when he gets recognition for all the awesome he's done, like today when his nomination for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man of the Year was announced.

Guys, I'm married to the potential Man of the Year. That makes me cool by association, right? RIGHT?!?!

Anyway, I wanted to do a couple of things. First, I just wanted to publicly squeal, "ZOMGMYHUSBANDISSOCOOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" So consider that done. I also wanted to invite you to take two actions in honor of this momentous occasion.

• First, you can donate to cancer research and support the FRUIT NINJA FOR MAN OF THE YEAR campaign by visiting Andy's page and clicking Donate Now. I know money's tight, but this really is a tremendous opportunity to make a difference, and every little bit helps.
• Second, you can help spread the word that survivorship happens! If there's a cancer survivor in your life, send me their picture, first name, and the type of cancer they survived to carrie at carrieharrisbooks dot com. I'll feature them on this website and in the DEMON DERBY book trailer. They're heroes. They deserve every bit of recognition we can give them, and there are so many people out there who need to see that there is life after cancer, and it can be AWESOME.

If you can do either or both of those things, that is beyond terrific. And if not, I totally understand that too.

I'm also trying to talk him into renting out his fruit ninja skills for parties. So far, he's resisting the attempts, but I have high hopes that it'll happen. I can be persuasive. And annoying. Eventually, people say yes to things just to shut me up.

And all joking aside, I am the luckiest person in the world.

DEMON DERBY cover

So this very pretty thing started making the rounds yesterday. It looks kind of like this:

And when I see it, I go kind of like this:

I was going to tell you to figure out which one of them I am, but obviously I am BOTH OF THEM. SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Demon Derby jacket copy...and a cover reveal!

I'm so excited. (And I just can't hide it.)

Sorry. I've just given MYSELF an earworm, and I wanted to share the love. We're going all monster disco up in here.

Kind of like this only not as awesome, because nothing is as awesome as this.

Anyway. I'm extra excited today, because I've gotten the okay to share the jacket copy for DEMON DERBY...and we'll be revealing the cover in just a few weeks! First, la copy. I know I've been talking about this one for a while, and usually the excitement makes me so incoherent that in all likelihood you have no idea what the bleeping thing is about. Here. This will clear it all up.

Casey kicked cancer’s ass. Now a demon wants to kick hers. . . .

Casey hates being known as the girl who survived cancer. She wants people to treat her like her old self, fearless and strong. And after a creepy encounter with a crazy guy in an alley, Casey is all about reclaiming her power.

So when she has a chance to try out for the Apocalypsies roller derby team, she jumps on it. Being a derby girl would prove that she doesn’t need anybody’s pity. It doesn’t hurt that Michael, the team manager, is almost unnaturally hot. Which makes sense when Casey finds out that he’s not even human.

Michael’s got a secret: he trains demon hunters. That crazy guy in the alley? Demon. And the fact that Casey went head to head with evil and lived makes her a threat to demonkind. Casey thought she’d already fought and won the battle of her lifetime. But it’s only beginning. . . .

From Carrie Harris, author of Bad Taste in Boys and Bad Hair Day, comes a knockout new read for anyone facing their own demons—inside and out.

ZOMGSOEXCITEDTOTALLYINCOHERENTINALLCAPSAAAAAAAAAA!

Er...yeah. Anyway, as you might imagine, I was pretty neurotic about the cover for this book. It's such a special book to me (and yeah, all my book-kids are special, and you're not supposed to have a favorite, but SUE ME IT'S MY FAVORITE). I try not to get the covers all built up in my head, but of course I do it anyway, and I quite literally had heart palpitations when I opened the file for the first time.

Guys, it's PERFECT. It's the most awesome cover in the history of the universe, and there are demony shadows on it, and fire, and roller skates, and AWESOME. Did I mention it's awesome?

Anyway, I'm so excited about this that I wanted to plaster it all over the internet so I can go to blogs and SQUEAL with ALL THE PEOPLE. Would you like to sign up so I can squeal at you? (Hrgh. That sounded wrong. But you know what I mean, right?) Go here to sign up to participate!

Can-can girls, Voltron, and...a New Job?

You know it's an important announcement when it's announced by a bunch of celebrities dancing the can-can in drag. And also me.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

That's right! More excitement at the Casa de Harris! I'm the new Marketing Manager over at Evil Hat Productions, and I'm pre-casting the movie about our lives (hint: I didn't pick those dancers for no reason), and if this video is right, I am secretly a man. This last part is news to me too.

But seriously. Evil Hat is all about games and stories and GAMES WITH STORIES IN THEM and BOOKS THAT COME WITH GAMES and I have to tell you that there's a game coming out with Sally Slick in it, and I took one look at it and squealed because I am writing about a character that will be in a real game with game tokens and stuff, and is it just me or is that freaking cool!?!?! WHO WANTS TO COME OVER AND PLAY IT?

At some point, I'll have to tell you all about how I got this job, but the short version is that it happened because I am on twitter and because I am pushy. But when I talk to the people at Evil Hat, I don't call it "pushy." I call it "really excited about the possibilities of spreading the word about your awesome products and also very pushy."

In short, I'm super excited. If the gushing here hasn't communicated it fully, you can go to the Evil Hat site and read the announcement there in which I decide we're Voltron. THE PINK LION IS MINE, DAMN IT! MINE!!!!!!!!