Tip of the Day: Stay tuned for an A2A Query Clinic coming soon!
Have a polished manuscript? Looking for an agent and/or a publisher without an agent like me? Check out some of these opportunities to submit to some great people/places!

1. Janet Reid's Liz Norris Pay It Forward Writing Contest. You can win a great Backspace Conference prize package. Get your completed, thrilling novel in by March 15.
2. Angry Robot's new YA imprintStrange Chemistry's Open Door submission period. You have from April 16-April 30 to get your fantasy/sci-fi/horror/supernatural novels in.
3. Entangled Publishing, an up-and-coming new publisher, is still open to unagented submissions in upper-YA with romantic elements.


If your manuscript is not polished up yet and you are an SCBWI member, you have until March 15 for your manuscript to arrive at the L.A. HQ for the Work-in-Progress grants.

Good luck!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

*with apologies to Irving Berlin

** DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF JUST YOUR AVERAGE PRINCESS!!!! THE MORE COMMENTS YOU LEAVE THIS WEEK, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING.

Tip of the Day: Looking for a cute town with charm and a Koffee Haus that lets you write at their tables all day for a writing retreat? Try Frankenmuth, MI!

I don't remember too many family "competitions" in my teens, but I do recall being a tween and receiving bags of hand-me-downs from "cooler" older kids, like our cousins or family friends, and my sister and I, who were the same size (she's 17 months older than me) would scramble through the bags, trying to claim the "best" stuff for each of us. If Mom caught wind of the situation, she'd tell us to SHARE all the clothes, but once they were in the dresser drawer and morning came, the race to get the "best" shirt could be on! I specifically remember these two sweatshirts with pandas on them that just SCREAMED cool. :)

My sister may read this and remember it differently, but at the time, having the cool clothes from our older cousins seemed soooo important!

What did you compete for with your relatives as a tween or teen?

Comment on any and all posts this week, Monday-Thursday, for a chance to win a copy of the hilarious and perfect-for-the-pumpkin-patch-season JUST YOUR AVERAGE PRINCESS!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Here's a creative contest with the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Check out YA Fantasy Author Megg Jensen's contest for her newest book, Sleepers.

And the random number generator says the winner is.....

I Read Banned Books

Congratulations! Please email your snail mail address to author2author.blog AT gmail.com.

Thanks for reading and entering!

Tip of the Day: *Blatant A2A Author Promotion* Buy your besties a paperback copy of THE ESPRESSOLOGIST and their favorite coffee drink for V-Day. The perfect pair!

In the spirit of coffee and book love, today's Fun Friday is a giveaway! Just leave a comment on this post between now and next Thursday to enter a drawing for this book:

Open to continental U.S. residents only. Winner will be announced next Friday.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Tip if the Day: My first booksigning for My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours is 9/11 from 2-4pm at the Borders in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Come see me!

Today's blog post might be a little swirly like this water slide:















because my head is spinning with last minute promo stuff for My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours! It releases in a week in a half (YIKES!) and there are e-mails and interviews and launch stuff literally piling up around me. So what do I do?

Go on vacation of course! Me and the family just got back from Wisconsin Dells. The picture above is one of their water slides (the Tornado) that was at the huge, fun water park where we stayed. I didn't go on it (wimp!) but I did go on a lot of the water slides with my 5yr old. And I was scared each time! The kids were fearless of course. My 7yr old loved the tornado but my head is already so spinny these days I didn't want to see what happened if the rest of me spun around like that! A vacation was a nice break from everything and my phone didn't work in the lodge so no e-mailing, texting etc. Wow! Not usual for me. Of course now I have a million things to respond to but that's ok. It's back to work time! I got my first author copy of Fake Boyfriend and it's sooooo cute! I love it. Pop over here for pics. And I'm running a fun contest starting Tuesday so please stop by and enter. Here's a hint: you can win a REAL fake boyfriend of your very own!! And who doesn't want that? :-)

Kristina, Miss See Me on the Shelves

ANGIE!
Please check your email and reply to the message from me with your snail mail addy. Congrats!

Thanks, everyone, for reading and entering. Have a great weekend!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Tip of the Day: Remember, you can get an extra entry in this week's giveaway for each one of our personal blogs you follow too! I'm here, Lisa's here, Kate's here, Deena's here, and Em's here.

As you may already know, Lauren Myracle is one of my YA idols! I looooooove her books! So much so that you may remember this. If you clicked on the link you'd see the recap and pic of me going to see Lauren at a signing a week before my due date with kid #4. I was so hoping I'd go into labor there and she'd have to deliver and I'd name the kid Lauren if it was a girl or Myracle if it was a boy. "Myracle Springer you clean your room right now!" :-)

I just finished the audiobook for her Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks last week and OMG, so good! The actress doing the voice of the main character was amazing and the book was wonderful too of course. And I just noticed the hardcover is at a crazy sale price on Amazon right now so I have to link ($6.80!). But alas, my copy was audio. And I checked it out at the library. So you're not getting it. You can, however, get another one of her awesome books! Luv Ya Bunches!




















Luv Ya Bunches is told through four points of view, and I know how hard that is to pull off! The first book I ever wrote was four points of view. No one has seen that book though (you're welcome). And Luv Ya Bunches is told through IMs and blog posts and mini-screenplays. Cute stuff!

So re-read Kate's awesome post on Monday for the in-depth contest details if you'd like and comment here for a chance to win all five books this week!

Kristina, Miss See Me On the Shelves

Tip of the Day: Comment on today's post -- and/or any posts this week -- for a chance to win all five novels mentioned on A2A this week! See Kate's Monday post for details.

For Spring Cleaning Week here on A2A, I'm giving away a copy of the super talented Adrienne Marie Vrettos' SIGHT!

This is a small town murder mystery with twists and turns and psychicness. So good! I received this book as an Xmas gift from my bro after putting it on my wish list.

After reading AMV's SKIN,

where the voice of her MC, the younger brother of a girl dying of anorexia, is perfect, I knew all her future books would rock. So far, I'm right.

I am excited to soon get my hands on the copy of this that I bought for my library, AMV's latest release:

Christine Farley!

Congratulation! Please email your snail mail address to:

author2author DOT blog AT gmail DOT com

Happy weekend, everyone!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Hi, Kate here, Miss Perfecting the Pages. As Monday's poster, I'm announcing our book giveaway this week, selected by Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing. Here's what she has to say about CONFESSIONS OF A TRIPLE SHOT BETTY (I love that title) and why we're giving it away this week:

Wow, thanks so much to everyone who entered to win an ARC of FAR FROM YOU. Your messages were all so nice, and I wish I had a box here and could just send one to each of you!! That's the one thing I don't like about contests - I wish everyone could win!

But alas, this time there can only be one winner, and the winner is:

Chelsea!!

Please e-mail us your contact information at author2author dot blog at gmail dot com!

I will be having another contest starting December 21st and I'll be giving away a LOT of fabulous prizes, so stay tuned for more information on that.

Have a great weekend everyone. Please stop by next week where we're going to have some fun coming up with new Miss names. We'll be asking for your help and we hope you'll weigh in on what name you like the best for each of us.

~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed

Tip of the day: Congrats to HOPE, the winner of Tina's book, Lauren Barnholdt's FOUR TRUTHS AND A LIE. Hope, please e-mail us at author2author DOT blog AT gmail DOT com with your mailing information to receive your prize!

Hasn't this been a fun week? Thanks for all who have participated! Today is your last chance and look what I'm giving away today!

Yes, that's right, I'm giving away my last Advanced Review Copy of FAR FROM YOU. I still haven’t figured out how to describe this book well in one sentence. I know, I get an F in the blurb department. This is the flap copy:

Lost and alone...down the rabbit hole

Years have passed since Alice lost her mother to cancer, but time hasn't quite healed the wound. Alice copes the best she can, by writing her music, losing herself in the love of her boyfriend, and distancing herself from her father and his new wife. But when a deadly snowstorm traps Alice with her stepmother and newborn half-sister, she'll face issues she's been avoiding for too long. As Alice looks to the heavens for guidance, she discovers something wonderful.

Perhaps she's not so alone after all...

So let's ask author Lisa Schroeder what she's thankful for.

Lisa: What are you thankful for in your writing life this past year?

Lisa: Well Lisa, I'm so glad you asked! Being an unknown author is hard. It's scary. It's nerve-wracking. Even now, with my second book coming out, and one that isn't getting nearly as much buzz as the first simply because it doesn't have as much of a hook as the first, I'm scared and nervous. So today, I want to thank those people who championed my first book. Because I'm REALLY thankful for those people. Here, let me show you.

For all of the people who bought I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, I'm thankful.
For all of the people who told their friends about I HEART YOU, I'm thankful.
For all of the teachers and librarians who handed I HEART YOU to a student, I'm thankful.
For all of the readers who blogged about it or reviewed it or gave it away in a contest, I'm thankful.

My book got a TON of support in the teen blogging community. And to all of you (you know who you are) I'm especially thankful. When I had the idea to do a fun contest and get a couple of teen bloggers involved to celebrate the release of FAR FROM YOU, I worried that I might not find anyone who would want to do it, because I'm asking them to do something pretty different for the contest. But you know what? The first two people I asked said yes. They didn't even hesitate. They were right there, willing to help me. So I'm also thankful to Vanessa and Liv, who you'll "see" more of in a couple of weeks when that contest gets underway.

In the meantime, leave a comment here, today, and you'll be entered for a chance to win an ARC of FAR FROM YOU. The book doesn't even come out until December 23rd, so you'll be winning it before you can buy it! Please note, we can only ship to the US and entries must be received by midnight EST, December 5th. For a second entry, link to this blog on your own blog and let us know in the comments. I'll do a special blog tomorrow letting you know who's won!

~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed

Tip of the Day: The winner of Deena's giveaway, KENDRA, is Khyrinthia. E-mail us at author2author DOT blog AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address to receive your prize.

I'm a total Lauren Barnholdt fan-- and not just because her books are always fun and clever and told in a great voice. Lauren is also a super cool person and taught me a lot in this whole YA writing world. Before I took her YA chick lit class online the summer of 2006 I'd never had another person read one of my books. Not even a family member or close friend. And I ended up with several great critique partners from her class. I also had never blogged or even heard of live journal or blogspot back then (yeah, I was living under a big rock). And I didn't know any other YA writers. And now from blogging around (I just love that phrase) I know tons. So, I'm thankful Lauren popped up in my google search that day back in 2006 and that I signed up for her class.

*With apologies to Alanis Morisette ("Thank U") in honor of holiday eating.

Tip of the Day: The winner of Emily's DEATH BY books is Bamabelle! Bamabelle, please email us at author2author DOT blog AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address to receive your prize!

I was very fortunate to attend the YALSA Symposium in Nashville, TN in November, where I schmoozed with authors and got copies of their autographed books. One such author was Coe Booth, an amazing writer with a fabulous personality, generous spirit, and great smile.
Coe's first novel, TYRELL, tells the story of a teen boy living in the projects of NYC who fights day to day to make sure he has food, shelter, and money to survive. Coe's second novel, KENDRA, which just came out in October, is about a teen girl who lives with her grandmother who is obsessed with making sure Kendra doesn't get pregnant as a teen like Kendra's own mother did with her. Both novels are gritty and emotional with realistic dialog and scenarios.
You can visit Coe on her newly revamped website, or at the Longstockings blog.

I asked Coe, what writing-related anything from this past year is she thankful for. Her response:

"I really have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. I recently returned from my year-long writing residency in Switzerland, and I'm very thankful for being given that opportunity, especially since it came completely out of the blue!

"I'm also thankful that my second book KENDRA is out. It feels good to know real people are reading it, and I love the feedback I'm getting from readers.

"And now, as the deadline for my third book approaches, I'm really thankful that I'm able to write full-time. Time really is a gift -- one I'm really appreciating right now!"

Because the A2A Misses are thankful for YOU, our readers, we're giving you a chance to win books all week long (we can only ship to the U.S.). Comment to this post for a chance to win KENDRA by Coe Booth (please note the book is recommended for ages 15+) by midnight EST. For a second entry, link to this comment on your own blog and let us know in the comments.

Thanks for giving us a reason to blog!

Deena, Miss Recently Repped

Winner of the Day: Congratulations to TruBlu93! you are the winner of I Know It's Over. Please send your mailing address to author2author (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com!

Today I'm giving away not one, but TWO BOOKS. Yep, I'm so excited about the books in this series I had no idea which one to pick to give away so I decided to do both.

So to win a copy of both DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE by the very talented Linda Gerber, please leave a comment. You can tell us what you are thankful for, you can tell us which cheesy holiday movie you are most excited to see (I need suggestions), or you can simply say hi. We don't care. Just leave a comment by midnight tonight. Deena will announce the winner on the blog tomorrow. And if you put the contest info on your blogs, let me know again, so you'll get double the chance to win.

Okay, now onto the fun part.


These books are incredibly fun and entertaining, and follow the life of Aphra Connolly. She grew up on a remote tropical island resort and mingled with the rich and famous. But in Death by Bikini when a guest washes up dead on the beach lots of mystery follows. In the sequel Death by Latte, Aphra's adventures continue in Seattle. These books have mystery, tropical islands, coffee shops, and hot boys. What more could you ask for?

The author Linda Gerber agreed to participate in our mini interview, and was willing to share what she's thankful for in her writing life.

Take it away Linda...

"I was glad that Emily asked me to take a moment to write about what writing-related thing I was most thankful for this past year. Thinking about all that I've been blessed with was awonderful exercise - I highly recommend this to anyone! The problem was, I couldn't decide on only one thing, so I decided to list the top ten - in no particular order:

1. Fans. I wouldn't be writing if people weren't reading, so I am incredibly grateful for them! Especially the readers who take time to send me a note letting me know they are enjoying the books. It makes all the hard times worth it!

2. My Critique Group. I belong to a fantastic Crit group. We've been together for six years, and we haven't killed each other yet!

3. My Editor. I have been lucky enough to work with the same editor on every book so far - a novelty in the industry, I understand - plus she's probably the kindest, most diplomatic editor in the business.

4. Puffin's Book Designers. I LOVE the covers they gave me for the DEATH BY series!

5. My Agent. I signed with Elaine after the DEATH BY series had sold. Even though she isn't the agent of record for those books, she has been incredibly supportive and patient with me as I finished up with them and we launched into our next project together.

6. Teen Fiction Cafe. I feel incredibly lucky to be included with this group of talented blogging YA authors.

7. Online Friends. LOVE connecting with other authors, writers, readers, librarians, reviewers and interesting people online!

8. My patient family. They deserve sainthood for the number of times they've endured takeout, undone laundry, being locked out of my office and other indignities that go along with being saddled with a wife/mom who is a writer.

9. Really Good Books. Reading keeps me going!

10. Diet Coke. Nectar of the Gods. Has seen me through many a deadline."


Doesn't she sound just nice and sweet?! Thanks so much Linda for stopping by. We are incredibly thankful for you and your awesome books! And of course for Diet Coke.

--Emily, Miss Awaiting an Agent

Tip of the Day: Can't get enough of giveaways? Check out Tina Springer's Livejournal at http://kspringer.livejournal.com/ for a chance to win The Twelve Dates of Christmas. But be quick--her giveaway ends at midnight tonight!

Tip of the Day: Have a great Labor Day weekend - hopefully no labor is really involved!


Congratulations to the winner of yesterday's book, Chelsea!! You get your very own copy of REVENGE OF THE HOMECOMING QUEEN! Please e-mail author2author at gmail dot com with your mailing address!




Nooooo! I don’t want summer vacation to end! Neither do my kids. But, I guess it always does, doesn’t it? It’s interesting having boys – the whole first day of school and clothes drama is pretty much non-existent. When I was in school, I’d worry for a week about what I was going to wear the first day! I remember more than once going to school in a pretty new sweater on the first day, and it’d be 85 degrees out and I’d be sweating up a storm. But still, I looked *good* and that was the important thing.

My boys start school on Tuesday and since the weather is still pretty nice, they’ll probably wear a pair of shorts they’ve worn all summer long and a t-shirt. They’ve been wearing their new shoes for awhile now, so even those won’t really be “new.” Hey, maybe I’ll go back-to-school shopping and get myself a few things!




Now, for the contest! I’ve selected the book WAKE, by Lisa McMann, as my giveaway book. Getting sucked into people’s dreams isn’t fun for Janie, and it’s even less fun when it happens at school, which it does occasionally when people fall asleep in class or the library. And when it happens on a field trip? Oh no! Fortunately, there’s someone there who helps her out. Who? Well, I’m not going to tell you. You’ll just have to win the book and read it to find out!

To enter, just leave a comment here by midnight (EST). That’s it! Sorry, US residents only. Check back on Saturday where the winner will be announced.


Good luck!


~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed

Tip of the Day: Check out the super cool group blog of the author’s who's book I’m giving away—Books, Boyz, Buzz.

*Congrats brooke!!! You are the winner of Deena’s giveaway! Please email us your mailing address (author2author DOT blog AT gmail DOT com).*

I was never homecoming queen (I know, I know, I’m shocked too! Hee hee) but I always loved the homecoming season. I never did like football but there was something super special about that homecoming football game, the parade, and the dance. It was all so thrilling. Maybe that’s why this book, Revenge of the Homecoming Queen, by Stephanie Hale caught my eye.

After I saw the super adorable cover, I flipped it over and found that it was about this girl, Aspen Brooks, who is so completely stunning and flawless and has it ALL that she just knows she will be the homecoming queen. Only something strange happens—it’s given to a skanky girl named Angel instead. Other bizarre things happen and there is a mystery to be solved. This book is incredibly cute and clever and I just know one of you lucky readers will love it.

Thinking about how perfect and put together Aspen is in the book leads me to my back to school memory which involves back to school clothes shopping. When I was in junior high the big thing was Guess Jeans. Anyone remember this little patch?

Well, really they could have just sold the patch because that is all anyone cared about—the patch on your butt had to be viewable at all times. I equate it to the Cs on today’s Coach purses. If everyone can’t tell your purse is a Coach well then there is no reason to carry it right? :-) Anyway, I wanted a pair of Guess Jeans SO bad but my mom wouldn’t let me get them. She was a super duper bargain shopper back then (still is) and would always find me something like whatever the fad was but in an off color or something. So I finally did get a pair of Guess Jeans (at a deep discount I’m sure!) but oh were they not cute. I wish I had a picture to share but you’ll have to use your imagination. Know the Mom jean look?

High waisted and pleats in front so you can’t tell if you’re coming or going? Uh, yeah. That was the style of jeans she bought me. And of course they weren’t denim color. No, they were peach! And the topper? No triangle on the butt! I was pretty ticked let me tell you (but I love you mom and I forgive you!). This pair had a little rectangle that said Guess way up by the belt. Completely defeating the purpose right?!

This may seem more tragic back to school memory to you then favorite back to school memory but it really isn’t to me. It actually makes me laugh thinking about my old must have back to school items over the years and comparing them to what I actually got. I wonder what Aspen Brooks would have said about me? Never mind, I don’t want to know! :-)

Don’t forget to comment to this entry by midnight EST (two entries if you blog about the contest and tell us) for a chance to win Revenge of the Homecoming Queen and learn more about the fabulous Aspen. (US only) Lisa will post the winner tomorrow.

Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub