Monday, November 26, 2012

Come See Me, and Something That Makes Me Snarf!

Douglas Adams is a genius. This is my favorite radio bit of his:




You can also come see me this week! At Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor on Wednesday at 7! I'm collecting books for our local schools! I use too many exclamation points! Don't forget your headband!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Things That Make Me Snarf - Peanut's Bad Hair Day

Let's face it. Bad hair is funny. And bad hair plus Jeff Dunham is freaking hilarious. Although please note that this is NSFW hilarious and NSFK hilarious, because there are naughty words in it. And if your kids are anything like my kids (or your coworkers are anything like my kids), they'll point out every single fricking bad word that pops up and loudly proclaim that they didn't say it.

Anyway. Funny.




Also, I wanted to remind you all that there's an opportunity to win a gift card or 6 month mentorship with moi! All you have to do is publicly humiliate yourself like Peanut.

ALSO also, I'm working on a new book. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

It's TWINS! (And by that, I mean two books)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

You guessed it. Those annoying high-pitched squealing sounds are being inflicted upon you because I have not one, but TWO books out today! First is BAD HAIR DAY, which is a full length Grable adventure in which Kate takes on some very hairy beasts that may or may not be werebearwolfbots. You don't have to read the first book to understand this one, although it does help. And then there's BAD YETI, which is an e-novella and a great introduction to the series if you've been on the wall about them. And it has airborne yeti in it, which I find pretty hilarious.

If you're anywhere near SE Michigan, stop by and celebrate the release with me at Nicola's Books on November 28th! All the deets are here.

I've had quite a few people ask me if I was going to do another Night of the Giving Dead auction, and I've decided to forgo it this year. First of all, there's a huge KidLit Cares auction going on right now (Round 2 is hosted by my awesome friend Joanne Levy), and you should totally bid on things there. And frankly, I just ran out of time. But I still wanted to do something fun to celebrate, and I figured it would be nice if that fun had some kind of prize attached to it.

So here it is. Post a bad hair picture anywhere on the internet WITH A LINK TO THIS POST. Your picture must have a link to qualify. If you win the drawing, and it turns out that your picture doesn't have a link, I'll have to draw another winner, and I'll make a sad face, and you wouldn't want that, would you?!?! Your pic can be old or new. If you don't have one, go crazy with the scrunchies and TAKE ONE. You can enter as many times as you want (once per day), but each entry needs to be unique. So change up the picture or the text or SOMETHING. Post on your blog, put it on twitter, make a bad hair tumblr--whatever! Find some way to change it up. And don't forget to register each entry in the Rafflecopter below.

I'm going to take these pics and make an epic bad hair day video and link to each of your websites! More traffic to book blogs = win! If you don't want to be in the video, you can note that in the Rafflecopter.

AAAAND like I said, I hope this will just be a fun thing to do that will give a little marketing help to the book blog community that has done so many awesome things for me. But I also wanted to do a little more to thank you. So one random winner will get their choice of a six month writing mentorship with me starting in January OR a $100 gift card to Amazon/B&N/BAM/a book retailer that allows for purchasing of online gift cards. This is a great opportunity to get some help revising your NaNo novel, or an extra boost with the Christmas shopping! And it's easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to participate in!

I'll take entries through November 30th, and the winner will be announced on December 3rd. I feel like I haven't quite communicated my excitement, so let me say this again--I WANT TO MENTOR YOU! I WANT TO BUY YOU BOOKS! BECAUSE I HAVE TWO OF THEM OUT TODAY, AND I'M SUPER LUCKY, AND I WANT TO SHARE THAT! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!





I also want to share this. It's a WARNING NOT TO DO THIS TO YOUR HEAD.

Er...yeah. I went through an awkward phase. Or like ten of them. Simultaneously.

Anyway. Rafflecopter. Also, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, November 12, 2012

Monster Bash Winner!

So! Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment on all the Monster Bash posts. I probably had more fun writing them than any of you did reading them, if we're going to be perfectly honest here. Anyway, I'll be back with all the release day awesomeness tomorrow. (BAD HAIR DAY and BAD YETI release tomorrow! HOW DID IT GET SO CLOSE SO FAST?!?!?) But in the meantime, I've got one last outstanding bit of Monster Bash business.

The winner of the signed books.

Now I will confess that this year I had to CHEAT and draw two winners via Random.org, because the first one turned out to be ME, because I'd commented on a post and of course out of all the entries, it had to pick the one person who couldn't possibly win. But then it came back with a big old 64, and I was pretty thrilled to see that it's my new friend Kimberly, who made it a point to comment on every single Monster Bash post. Diligence pays, peeps. :)

So congrats goes out to Kimberly, and now I'm going to dash so I can plan ALL THE THINGS.

MWAHAHAHAHA HA. Hee. Heh.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Monster Bash: Ze Big List of YA Vampire Books

You knew it had to come eventually. We've listed off werewolf and zombie books, now it's time for the vamps. And this list is LOOOOONG. If you're a fan of the fang, you've got plenty to choose from.

Again, the deets. This list is for YA titles only, so anything shelved in adult didn't make the cut. I've limited to traditionally pubbed books in an effort to keep the list from exploding my brain. The list is organized by author last name. And these are books in which the main character is a vampire, or hunts vampires, or the main love interest is a vampire. If a vampire appears once on page 12 but otherwise the book is about weredonkeys, it didn't make the list. And yeah, I totally want to read that.

But first, the LIST.

  1. THIRSTY by MT Anderson
  2. THE DEN OF SHADOWS SERIES by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes 
  3. PRETTY DEAD by Francesca Lia Block
  4. THE DEMON UNDERGROUND SERIES by Parker Blue
  5. THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD SERIES by Heather Brewer
  6. THE SLAYER CHRONICLES by Heather Brewer
  7. THE CRAVE SERIES by Laura J Burns and Melinda Metz
  8. THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES by PC and Kristin Cast 
  9. IMMORTAL: LOVE STORIES WITH BITE by PC Cast 
  10. THE VAMPS SERIES by Nancy A Collins
  11. HIGH SCHOOL BITES: THE LUCY CHRONICLES by Liza Conrad
  12. THE BLUE BLOODS SERIES by Melissa de la Cruz
  13. TEETH by Ellen Datlow
  14. THE VAMPED SERIES by Lucienne Diver 
  15. DRINK, SLAY, LOVE by Sarah Beth Durst
  16. THE VAMPIRE BEACH SERIES by Alex Duval
  17. THE JESSICA SERIES by Beth Fantaskey 
  18. THE BITE ME SERIES by Melissa Francis
  19. THE HUNT SERIES by Andrew Fukuda
  20. THE EVERNIGHT SERIES by Claudia Gray
  21. LOOK FOR ME BY MOONLIGHT by Mary Downing Hahn
  22. THE VAMPIRE PRINCESS OF ST. PAUL SERIES by Tate Hallaway
  23. THE DRAKE CHRONICLES by Alyxandra Harvey 
  24. SWEETBLOOD by Pete Hautman 
  25. THE ALEX VAN HELSING SERIES by Jason Henderson
  26. THE VAMPIRE KNIGHT SERIES by Matsuri Hino and Tomo Kimura
  27. ROSARIO+VAMPIRE by Akihisa Ikeda
  28. NIGHT ROAD by AM Jenkins
  29. THE REFORMED VAMPIRE SUPPORT GROUP by Catherine Jinks
  30. THE BLOOD OF EDEN SERIES by Julie Kagawa
  31. THE BETH FRASIER SERIES by Julie Kenner
  32. THE SILVER KISS by Annette Curtis Klause
  33. THE OTHERWORDLIES SERIES by Jennifer Anne Kogler
  34. TEAM HUMAN by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
  35. THE DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN SERIES by JA London
  36. THE VAMPIRE QUEEN SERIES by Rebecca Maizel
  37. THE BLOOD COVEN VAMPIRE SERIES by Mari Mancusi 
  38. SLAYED by Amanda Marrone
  39. SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley 
  40. THE BLOODLINES SERIES by Richelle Mead
  41. THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY SERIES by Richelle Mead
  42. BLOODTHIRSTY by Flynn Meaney
  43. SUCK IT UP by Brian Meehl
  44. THE TWILIGHT SERIES by Stephenie Meyer
  45. THROAT by RA Nelson
  46. THE SUCKS TO BE ME SERIES by Kimberly Pauley 
  47. THE DARKANGEL TRILOGY by Meredith Ann Pierce
  48. THE THIRST SERIES by Christopher Pike
  49. VAMPIRE HIGH by Douglas Rees
  50. FAT VAMPIRE by Adam Rex
  51. THE HALF-BLOOD VAMPIRE SERIES by Serena Robar
  52. VAMPIRE CRUSH by AM Robinson
  53. THE VAMPIRE KISSES SERIES by Ellen Schreiber 
  54. THE CIRQUE DU FREAK SERIES by Darren Shan
  55. THE TANTALIZE SERIES by Cynthia Leitich Smith
  56. THE NIGHT WORLD SERIES by LJ Smith
  57. THE VAMPIRE DIARIES by LJ Smith
  58. THE VAMPIRATES SERIES by Justin Somper
  59. JANE JONES: WORST. VAMPIRE. EVER. by Caissie St. Onge
  60. NEVER BITE A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE by Tamara Summers
  61. THE ETERNAL KISS by Trisha Telep
  62. THE NIGHT RUNNER SERIES by Max Turner
  63. COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT by Vivian Vande Velde 
  64. THE VAMPIRE STALKER by Allison van Diepen
  65. THE YOUNGBLOODS SERIES by Lynn Viehl
  66. THE PEEPS SERIES by Scott Westerfeld
  67. THE MERCIAN TRILOGY by KJ Wignall
I have to admit that out of all of the creatures I've done so far, this list was the most overwhelming. So I'm ready for suggestions! I know I forgot some books--what are they?!?

Monday, November 5, 2012

Monster Bash: Ze Big List of YA Zombie Books

EEEEEEEEEEEE! I cannot believe that BAD HAIR DAY and BAD YETI come out one week from tomorrow! I haz copies, and they are la gorgeous. I can't wait to see them out in the big wide world! Anyway, that means that we're coming to the end of our monstery celebration, but we've still got this week to talk about monster books, because monster books are AWESOME.

If you missed Friday's post, there's a nice long list of YA werewolf titles for those of you who enjoy a good book about a hairy Cuisinart.

And today, I'm compiling a list of YA zombie titles! I'm looking to keep these lists updated with new releases, so this will be a resource for people to return to. But in order to do that, I need your help to nudge me with the titles I'm missing! As a brief reminder, these lists are limited to traditionally published titles just to keep them semi-manageable size-wise. And I'm sticking to books in which the MC or main love interest is a zombie or zombie hunter. So Monster High wouldn't make the list even though Ghoulia is a zombie. I'll be listing the lotsa monster titles later. And lastly, the list is organized by author last name.

So...without further ado. Zombie book fodder for your TBR list!

  1. ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH by Amanda Ashby
  2. THE INFECTS by Sean Beaudoin
  3. THE ASHES TRILOGY by Ilsa J. Bick
  4. ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier 
  5. THE KATERINA SERIES by Robin Bridges
  6. SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY by Susan Dennard
  7. THE UNDERTAKERS SERIES by Ty Drago
  8. DETENTION OF THE LIVING DEAD by Rusty Fischer
  9. ZOMBIES DON'T CRY: A LIVING DEAD LOVE STORY by Rusty Fischer
  10. SOULLESS by Christopher Golden
  11. ZOMBIE YOUTH: PLAYGROUND POLITICS by H.E. Goodhue
  12. THE GONE WITH THE RESPIRATION SERIES by Lia Habel
  13. BAD TASTE IN BOYS by Carrie Harris
  14. THE ENEMY SERIES by Charlie Higson
  15. ZOMBIE BLONDES by Brian James
  16. MY SO-CALLED DEATH by Stacey Jay
  17. THE MEGAN BERRY, ZOMBIE SETTLER SERIES by Stacey Jay
  18. THE BENNY IMURA SERIES by Jonathan Maberry
  19. HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER by Lish McBride
  20. THE OLD KINGDOM CHRONICLES by Garth Nix
  21. THE DARK INSIDE SERIES by Jeyn Roberts
  22. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH SERIES by Carrie Ryan
  23. STRANGE ANGELS by Lili Saintcrow
  24. THE ZOMBIE WEST SERIES by Angela Scott
  25. I KISSED A ZOMBIE AND I LIKED IT by Adam Selzer
  26. ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND by Gena Showalter
  27. THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers
  28. NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE by E. Van Lowe
  29. THE ZOMBIE ALWAYS KNOCKS TWICE by E. Van Lowe
  30. THE GENERATION DEAD SERIES by Daniel Waters
  31. THE OTHER LIFE by Susanne Winnacker
So. I know there are books that I'm missing here. WHAT ARE THEY?!

And don't forget--there's only a little time left to comment. One random commenter on a Monster Bash post will received a signed set of all the Grable books!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Monster Bash: Ze Big List of YA Werewolf Books

So. Now that Halloween is over (and I've BEGUN to recover), let's talk books. I've lost track of how many people have come to me saying, "Dude, this kid loves *insert monster here* books. She's read ALL of them." To which I naturally say, "Have they read X? Have they read Y? HAVE THEY READ Z?!?! OMG Z IS SO COOL!"

Ahem. I get a little overexcited sometimes.

Anyway, the point is that I've been saying that I'd love to have a list of monster books, organized by creature, so that people with a serious love for books about people who turn into slavering furry monsters have a place to go for assistance. WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE FANS OF SLAVERING FURRY MONSTERS, PEOPLE. IT'S A MORAL IMPERATIVE.

I will get to the point eventually. And the point is that here's a list of werewolf books targeted at teens, organized by author last name. These are books in which the main character is a werewolf or hunts werewolves or the primary love interest is a werewolf--there's a bit of a grey area here because of books like Twilight, but I'm trying to figure out a way to keep from listing the same book about a bijillion times. (Because of course I'm going to do lists for other monsters!) I'm including only traditionally published titles simply because opening up to self-pubs would make the list HOLYCRAPSOBIG. But if you know of a title that I missed, leave it in the comments and I'll add it!

  1. THE RAISED BY WOLVES SERIES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  2. THE WERELING TRILOGY by Stephen Cole
  3. THE NIGHTSHADE TRILOGY by Andrea Cremer
  4. THE NEVER CRY WEREWOLF SERIES by Heather Davis 
  5. THE 13 TO LIFE SERIES by Shannon Delany
  6. WOLF MOON by Charles De Lint
  7. THE DARK DIVINE SERIES by Bree Despain
  8. THE KITTY IRISH SERIES by Tess Grant
  9. THE SKINNED SERIES by Judith Graves
  10. BAD HAIR DAY by Carrie Harris
  11. THE DARK GUARDIAN SERIES by Rachel Hawthorne 
  12. THE WOLF SPRINGS CHRONICLES by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie
  13. THE WOLVING TIME by Patrick Jennings
  14. THE ABUSED WEREWOLF RESCUE GROUP by Catherine Jinks
  15. THE WEREWORLD SERIES by Curtis Jobling
  16. THE CLAIRE DE LUNE SERIES by Christine Johnson 
  17. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Klause
  18. RED MOON RISING by Peter Moore 
  19. HEMLOCK by Kathleen Peacock
  20. SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce
  21. WEREGIRLS by Petru Popescu
  22. UNLEASHED by Kristopher Reisz
  23. THE FULL MOON BOOKS by Ellen Schreiber
  24. RED RIDER'S HOOD by Neal Shusterman
  25. THE WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS SERIES by Maggie Stiefvater
  26. THE WOLF PACK SERIES by Edo Van Belkom
What titles have I missed? Let me know in the comments, or tell me how many of these you've read! Remember that every commenter on a Monster Bash post will be entered into the random drawing for a complete signed series of the Grable books--including werewolf title BAD HAIR DAY. WOOT.