Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Congratulations to Mari Mancusi on the release of Blood Forever! From the promotional copy:

Sunny and Rayne McDonald have had their lives turned upside down thanks to the Blood Coven. But when the past itself is changed, the sisters will do anything to get back what they’ve lost…


After making a deal with the devil, Rayne and her twin sister Sunny have been given the chance to go back in time—preventing that fateful night when Sunny was bitten by Magnus from ever happening. But while Sunny has been offered a vampire-free existence, she finds she doesn’t want to live without Magnus by her side. And although Rayne puts up a stoic front, she secretly wishes that vampire Jareth was back in her arms.


To reclaim their lives, Sunny and Rayne team up to figure out a way to change history for the better. Problem is, Jareth and Magnus aren’t that eager to help two unfamiliar girls who somehow know everything about their vampiric organization. Now, if the twins can’t get the boys on their side, history may spiral out of control—destroying not only the Blood Coven, but quite possibly the entire human race…

Mari–along with fellow YA fantasy authors Sophie Jordan and Tera Lynn Childs–will be launching the novel at 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at The Book Spot.

It’s Complicated

Join in the latest “It’s Complicated” conversation at CBC Diversity, this one focusing on book covers:

• Creating Book Covers as Both a Mirror and a Window by Laurent Linn, art director at Simon & Schuster
• Book Covers and Sales by Felicia Frazier, Senior Vice President & Director of Sales at Penguin Young Readers Group
• Book Covers by Literary Agent & Former Bookstore Buyer Joseph Monti of Barry Goldblatt Literary
• Who Will Create the New Normal? by Elizabeth Bluemle, children’s book author, blogger for Publishers Weekly and owner of The Flying Pig Bookstore
• Separate, Not Equal by YA author Coe Booth

More News & Giveaways

Charlesbridge, 2012

Debut Author Interview: Natalie Dias Lorenzi on Flying the Dragon by Carmen Oliver from One Word at a Time. Peek: “As an ESL teacher and someone who has lived overseas both as a child and an adult, I knew from the start that the ‘finding your place in the world’ theme would be a dominant one in the story.”

Character Trait Entry: Peacemaker by Becca Puglisi from The Bookshelf Muse. Peek: “Since they value the happiness of others, they’re usually
people-oriented and sacrificial, deferring to others in order to
maintain good relations.”

Villains: The Guys You Love to Hate by Ash Krafton from QueryTracker.netBlog. Peek: “… sometimes, I root for the bad guy.”

Sounds Like Teen Speak by Karen Rock. Peek: “To know our audience, we need to learn about them and here’s how.”

L Is For Librarians by Professor Nana from The Goddess of YA Literature. Peek: “We need classroom libraries. We need to make sure kids have good
libraries in the school, too. The public library is as essential.”

The Prism of Roles: Another View of Character Identity and Narrative by Sarah Blake Johnson from Hunger Mountain. Peek: “…interactions between characters reflect their beliefs about their roles;
characters view each other not with a mirror or through a window, but
through a prism.”

Writing Big or Going Home by Nikki Loftin from Adventures in YA & Children’s Publishing. Peek: “If you’re writing adventure, raise the stakes sky-high – or make the
reader identify so much with your main character that even a dropped ice
cream cone feels like a loss of epic proportions. Go there. Go big. Or your manuscript may never go anywhere.”

Organizational Tips for Your Writing Retreat by P.J. Hoover from The Writing Barn. Peek: “It’s important to have a group that will get along well. I’m not saying
everyone has to be BFF with everyone else, but the retreat will include
tons of bonding time, and there is no place for divas or people holding
grudges.”

Without Delay by Donald Maass from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “While reading a well-reviewed novel, have you ever felt both awed and bored?”

New YA Book Award: the Burt Award for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Literature “established by CODE with
the generous support of philanthropist William Burt and the Literary
Prizes Foundation that recognizes excellence in First Nations, Métis and
Inuit literature for youth and provide engaging and culturally-relevant
books for young people across Canada.” See Debbie Reese at American Indians in Children’s Literature for more information.

Interview with Flux Editor Brian Farry by Laurie Boyle Crompton from Emu’s Debuts. Peek: “What I typically tell people (and this scares them) is: I know after 1
page if you can write, I know after 10 pages if I’m going to keep
reading, I know by page 50 if I’m going to finish.”

How to Make a Book Trailer Using Animoto by Laura Bowers. Peek: “…it’s a great website for daunted, clueless, overwhelmed people with limited funds.”

Looking for more links? Try Seeing Creative and Publishing Pulse from QueryTracker.netBlog.

Cynsational Giveaways

• New! Prize package: a signed copy of Lupe Ruiz-Flores’ bilingual picture book, Alicia’s Fruity Drinks/Las aguas frescas de Alicia; a small “Hope” note pad; a Charlotte Bronte journal; and a business card holder (PB)  
• New! One of five copies of My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt (YA)
• New! Never Enough by Denise Jaden (YA)
• One of three copies of Just Flirt and one copy of Beauty Shop for Rent, both by Laura Bowers (YA)
• Set of three multicultural picture books (and one F&G) by Pat Mora (PB)

The winner of Tris & Izzie T-shirt, love potion necklace and signed copy of Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison was Beverly in Pennsylvania, the winner of Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster) was Lillian in Ohio, the winner of a Let’s Go Rambling Kit, celebrating One Day I Went Rambling by Kelly Bennett (Bright Sky Press, 2012) was Heidi in Utah, and the winner of a signed paperback edition of Flutter (Puffin, 2012) and a signed ARC of Tracing Stars (Philomel, 2012), both by Erin E. Moulton was Debbi in California.

Back-to-School Giveaway from Donna Gephart at Wild About Words. Includes: an autographed hardcover of Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, signed paperback copies of How to Survive Middle School and As If Being 12-3/4 Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President!; a free 30-minute Skype visit with the author, 30 signed Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen bookmarks and a $25 gift card for Books-A-Million.

This Week at Cynsations

• Book Trailer & Giveaway: Never Enough by Denise Jaden
• Career Builder & Giveaway: Lupe Ruiz-Flores 
• Author Interview & Giveaway: Martine Leavitt of My Book of Life By Angel

Cynsational Screening Room

Congratulations to Cynsations Canada reporter Lena Coakley on the release of Witchlanders (Atheneum, 2012) in paperback!

More Personally

Happy Friday! It’s a catch-up week here. Please hold off on any non-critical correspondence for a few days. A wave of folks send email after holiday weekends, and it takes a while to respond to it all.

Congratulations to Austinite Sara Kocek on the sale of her debut novel, What Happened at Talmadge Hill, to Albert Whitman!

Last week’s highlight was four days, three nights at the Hyatt Lost Pines.

I love how the hotel honors Texas musicians and writers (like Brian Yansky).

Water fowl were in abundance.

Wildflower season is the best time to go, but the stained glass is lovely, too.

I don’t have to partake of the chocolate fountain to love the world more because it exists.

Saw this and thought of The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy.

Enjoyed the rustic activities.

Final art by Ming Doyle for Eternal: Zachary’s Story (Candlewick, 2013).

Personal Links

• For Geeking Out Over ALA Awards: Heavy Medal
• Judy Blume Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis (sending healing thoughts) 
• Poppiness: Making a Home for Wildlife in the Suburbs (greeting cards based on the nature photos of children’s author Susan Taylor Brown)
• Is the CW Developing a “Wonder Woman” TV Show? 

From Greg Leitich Smith

• The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure by Martin W. Sandler (Candlewick)
• Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of the Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport (Candlewick)

Cynsational Events

Nikki Loftin will be speaking on “Love-Inspiring Queries, Pitches, and Synopses” at 10 a.m. Sept. 8 at BookPeople in Austin, sponsored by Austin SCBWI.

Cynthia Leitich Smith will be part of the mass reading of “Buried Treasure” at 2 p.m. at the O. Henry 150th Birthday Crawl Sept. 15 at the O. Henry Museum in Austin, Texas.

Join Newbery Honor author Marion Dane Bauer for a free live teleconference at 7 p.m. EST Sept. 19. She will also be offering a free live webinar on “Point of View in Fiction” at 7 p.m. EST Sept. 26. See more information.