I’m happy dancing about being part of the blog tour for Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer, you guys. Why? Because I absolutely loved the first book in her Elementals series, Storm. And I’ve finally, finally started Spark – and it’s just as good, if not better. So I’m thrilled for the third book in the series to be released, Spirit!

So be sure to to check out this seriously awesome and totally swoon-worthy excerpt for Spirit below and enter to win some awesome prizes, including two grand prizes of all three books in the Elemental series!

I also have some cool links for you below, like the code to get the Elemental e-book for free (until May 31). So be sure to check it out!

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust… – Goodreads

Excerpt from Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

Hunter had made it to the parking lot by the time Kate caught up to him. The sun had burned off the clouds, and she felt heat prick at her neck. She grabbed Hunter by the arm.

“Are you insane?” she hissed. “I thought you really broke that kid’s arm. What was the point of all—”

“Now he’s afraid of me. I need them to be afraid of me.”

She wished Hunter would just stop and talk to her. “Why?”

“Because Calla always had the upper hand, and that meant people got hurt. I need time to figure out what else they’re planning.” He shoved a key into the door of his jeep. “To figure out where she might be hiding.”

“Damn it, Hunter, if you’re going to work with me, then you need to work with me. You need to tell me what you’re doing. We don’t work like—”

He turned and caught her arms. She tensed to retaliate—but then she realized she didn’t need to fight him off.
Because he was kissing her.

She lost a moment to sheer surprise. His hands were strong and gentle at the same time, sliding under her jacket to trap her waist—not that there was any danger of her going anywhere right this second. She couldn’t read him at all today. First, she’d thought he hated her, then he was brutalizing that kid, and now . . . now . . .

Her back hit the side of his jeep before she even realized he’d turned her. The heat of the sunlight became a living thing, tracing power down her skin to match the sparks from his lips against hers. He was pressed against her, almost full length, his hands creeping up her sides to send heat through her body in a way that had nothing to do with sunlight or power. Silver could have had a gun trained on her right that instant, and she wouldn’t have cared.

Hunter tasted like cinnamon and smelled like the woods, pine and bark and something very male. His mouth was so sure, and when his tongue brushed hers, a sound escaped her lips. He did it again, letting his thumbs trace over her breasts so lightly that she found herself arching into him. Suddenly she wished they were somewhere else, somewhere private, with curtains and less clothing and—

Hunter broke the kiss. Her breathing was quick, loud and desperate in the space between them.

He closed his hands on her waist again, and turned her away from his car.

Her brain was spinning its wheels, trying to find traction.

Hunter leaned close. “Just to be clear: I’d know exactly what to do if you threw yourself at me.”

Then he was in his car, starting the ignition, leaving her in the parking lot, nothing more than a melted puddle of hot, bothered, and seriously pissed off.

About Brigid Kemmerer

Brigid Kemmerer started writing in high school, and her first real “novel” was about four vampire brothers causing a ruckus in the suburbs. Those four brothers are the same boys living in the pages of The Elemental Series, so Brigid likes to say she’s had four teenage boys taking up space in her head for the last seventeen years!

Spirit, the latest book in the series, will be released in stores and online on May 28, 2013. Connect with Brigid on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Giveaway

You guys, the Spirit blog tour has some super awesome prizes for you! You could win one of ten copies of Spirit or one of two grand prizes with all three books in the Elemental series! You can enter to win by entering the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Along with the Blog Tour

Be sure to check out the Spirit tour kick-off here! You can also follow along with the rest of the tour -

5/20 The Midnight Garden
5/21 Bewitched Bookworms
5/22 The Reader’s Den
5/23 Hobbitsies
5/24 The Starry-Eyed Revue
5/27 Saz101
5/28 Realm of Fiction
5/29 Stuck in Books
5/30 Books with Bite
5/31 Cuddlebuggery

Other Awesome Things

Want to get the Elemental e-book for free? Just click here and use the code “VCARD” – available until May 31.

Also, if you have a favourite guy – be sure to vote in the poll below. Because Brigid Kemmerer is going to write an extra about him – I’m having trouble choosing!

While you’re here, you can subscribe to my feed :)

Also, be sure to check back next month for my review of The Wig in the Window – and if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for the Debut Author Challenge newsletter! I’ll be featuring Kristen and giving away a copy of The Wig in the Window!

Anyway, without further ado, here’s a guest post from Kristen all about her cover! Which is awesome, FYI.

Best friends and seventh graders Sophie Young and Grace Yang have made a game out of spying on their neighbors. On one of their midnight stakeouts, they witness a terrifying, bloody scene at the home of their bizarre middle-school counselor, Dr. Charlotte Agford (aka Dr. Awkward).

At least, they think they do. The truth is that Dr. Agford was only making her famous pickled beets! But when Dr. Agford begins acting even weirder than usual, Sophie and Grace become convinced that she’s hiding something—and they’re determined to find out what it is.

Soon the girls are breaking secret codes, being followed by a strange blue car, and tailing strangers with unibrows and Texas accents. But as their investigation heats up, Sophie and Grace start to crack under the pressure. They might solve their case, but will their friendship survive?

Perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Wig in the Window is a smart, funny middle-grade mystery with a REAR WINDOW twist. – Goodreads

Kristen Kittscher, author of The Wig in the Window

I’m so delighted to be kicking off my first guest post on the blog tour for The Wig in the Window with Hobbitsies!

Given the prying nature of my enterprising tween sleuths, Young & Yang, I thought it would be fun to take you behind-the-scenes for some top secret investigations into how a manuscript is turned into a real, live book. If we’re going undercover, perhaps the cover is the best place to start?

While the cover is really up to the publisher at the end of the day, my editors, Rosemary Brosnan and Andrea Martin, asked for some early input: did I have any strong feelings? Any dislikes? Specific thoughts?

I did have a few thoughts—and as you’ll see, to my delight they very much took them into account. Here’s a peek at our correspondence (don’t you feel sneaky? Well, they did give permission—but let’s pretend we’ve been riffling through desks. Maybe we’re even about to get caught?)

Snippets from my first email (to which I attached this poster of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window):

–I think the Chapter 2 “Rear Window” scene and the Wig in the Window scene are ripe with possibility and perhaps, combination. The nighttime scene is more evocative than the daytime, in my opinion.

–I hate the color pink and am generally not seeing this book as appealing to girly-girls, for lack of a better word.

–If Young & Yang are both pictured, it is important to me that they have equal status, i.e. no Grace hiding behind Sophie’s shoulder. There are few enough characters of color represented in the mainstream, and it is powerful for kids to see someone like themselves represented.

I finished by offering to send pictures of the place that inspired “Luna Vista.”

Click the image to view full size

Associate Editor Andrea Martin’s reply:

I totally agree with all your points. Sophie and Grace are equals and they should be represented as such if they’re on the jacket. A pink girly cover wouldn’t do…and it would completely miss the readership for this book. You know, it would be wonderful if you could send along some pictures of “Luna Vista” and the types of houses that Sophie and Grace would live in (and spy on)—thank you! Photos would absolutely be useful to our art department.

When brilliant cover artist Marcos Calo (http://www.marcoscalo.com) (DANI NOIR, VANISHING ACTS) came back with his first sketches, I was floored! It was Hitchcock—but for kids. Exactly the vibe I hoped for. And the kids’ Converse! What a perfect touch. I especially loved the askew font and the Saul Bass-inspired Vertigo-like horizontal lines in the window. It was such a thrilling moment to see what creative minds had done to transform the spirit of Young & Yang’s adventures into an image.

I did have some concerns: I couldn’t really tell the characters apart—originally one was in silhouette and the other didn’t really look like either character. I certainly didn’t want Grace Yang’s ethnicity to be hidden. Also, I didn’t think it was quite right that one was carrying a teddy bear. I wrote back an email bubbling over with all my debut author enthusiasm, but (nervously) weighed in with my thoughts. I was relieved by their reply:

We agree about the girls…it is too difficult to tell who’s who…We’re going to lose the teddy bear, as well.

Music to my ears. The next time I saw the cover, it was very close to what it is now—and I think it captures the book’s spirit very well. As I believe Hobbitsies’ boyfriend exclaimed when he saw it: “Hijinks are about to happen!”

Yes, they certainly are! Hope you enjoy them…

WIG’s officially out June 18, but you can order wherever books are sold.

Right now, two of my favorite independent children’s stores are running a special pre-order promotion. While supplies last, if you buy from Mrs. Nelson’s or Once Upon A Time, you will get a signed copy and a free SPY PEN for all your top secret communiqués…

P.S. While the “Luna Vista” pictures didn’t turn out useful for the cover, they ended up being very helpful for the artist who worked on the book trailer, as you’ll soon see…

About Kristen Kittscher

Kristen Kittscher was a child neighborhood spy but (allegedly) grew up to be an upstanding citizen and middle school English teacher. A graduate of Brown University, she now works as a writing tutor in Pasadena, California where she lives with her husband, Kai, and their hyperactive lab mix. The Wig in the Window is her first novel. Visit kristenkittscher.com to investigate more about her and Young & Yang’s next adventure, The Tiara on the Terrace.

Visit Kristen at her website, Twitter, or on Facebook.

Other Awesome Links

I’ve got some other awesome links for you! Want to follow the rest of the blog tour? You can do so here! And here’s a hilarious and fun interview with Kristen and two kids! Kristen also has a really cool preorder promotion going on – want a free spy pen? Find out more details here!

While you’re here, you can subscribe to my feed :)

Review of All I Need

Title & Author:
All I Need by Susane Colasanti
Publisher:
Viking Juvenile
Publication Date:
May 21, 2013
Pages:
240
Source:
Publisher via NetGalley

The last night of summer is only the beginning.

Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?

All I Need by Susane Colasanti is a fun read – definitely perfect for the summer. I could have easily seen it as a book I would read on the beach, and as a matter of fact, I wish I had!

All I Need wasn’t really the right book for me, simply because I tend to prefer books that have plot with a side of romance, rather than romance with a side of plot. But that’s totally a personal preference, so if you love YA romance, I have a feeling you’re really going to enjoy All I Need.

But I did think All I Need was a lot of fun to read – and I thought it was interesting that it followed the characters throughout the span of two or three years, rather than just focusing on one summer. It kind of satisfied that craving I always get after reading those one-summer-only books.

I liked Skye as a character. I thought all the things she was dealing with – friend issues, parent issues, boyfriend issues – were really realistic. High school is complicated, even when it all seems like just pointless drama. Her and her friends are all struggling to grow up and sometimes that growth separates people. I can’t say I agreed with all of her decisions, especially those concerning where she went to college, but I did like her as a character.

Seth, on the other hand, was a little meh to me as a love interest. I liked Seth and Skye as a couple, but I thought Seth was a little snobby about not being snobby. He spent the whole book complaining about how he had no money and while basically looking down on Skye and her friends because they did have money. Like, at one point Skye tells him she took a cab and he, in his head, was like “Oh, I never take a cab.”** And then one of Skye’s friends offers him a ride and, in his head of course, he thinks “I’d normally scoff that blah blah is driving us instead of walking, but it would take like half an hour to walk.”** Come on, dude. She is being nice. She offered you a ride.

And then Skye offers to pay for dinner or a hotel room for the night so he doesn’t always have to pay – and he tells her it’s demeaning.** Welcome to the modern world, dude, girls can pay too. I just didn’t feel like at any point Skye was rubbing in the fact that she came from a well-off family, but he was so very self-conscious of it and it drove me nuts. Maybe I interpreted it wrong, but that’s how it felt to me.

But if you love summery romances and happy ending, I definitely recommend picking up All I Need by Susane Colasanti. It wasn’t perfect for me, but I like I said – that’s a personal preference! But it was light and summery and fun – perfect for the beach or by the pool.

** Please note these are not exact quotes, I’m paraphrasing from what I remember.

Other Books by Susane Colasanti

Keep Holding On
So Much Closer

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In one week and one day, I leave for New York City. YOU GUYS. I am filled with this nervous and bubbly energy. There’s something about New York City that does that to me. I love this city so much – there’s so much possibility and I feel like amazing things always happen every time I visit.

I’m not going just to explore and enjoy the city, however. I’m going to BookExpo America for my third year. And I am so stoked! I can’t wait to meet new faces and chat about books with everyone!

I’ll be on the floor throughout the convention (obviously) and I’ll be at the children’s author breakfast – which is so worth it, so if tickets aren’t sold out, you should get one! And I’ll be at different publisher events throughout the week. OH and I’ll be at the Book Blogger Picnic that Alexa and a few others are throwing. More details here!

So tell me – are you going? I want to know who I’m going to meet! And if you see my face, definitely come and say hi!

If you’re not going, you can follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram for updates and photos!

Here’s my face, FYI:

While you’re here, you can subscribe to my feed :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

For Review

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair, from Edelweiss (Goodreads | Amazon)
OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu, from Publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)

Bought

SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows – this is one of my books at Entangled! (Goodreads | Amazon)
Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green (Goodreads | Amazon)
Inferno by Dan Brown (Goodreads | Amazon)

Donated

Swag from the lovely Jennifer Salvato Doktorski for How My Summer Went up in Flames and Famous Last Words – thanks, Jennifer!!

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Review of Fifteenth Summer

Title & Author:
Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton
Publisher:
Simon Pulse
Publication Date:
May 07, 2013
Pages:
272
Source:
Publisher via Edelweiss

Chelsea isn’t looking forward to her summer at the lake. It’s the first time her family has been there since her grandmother died, and she can’t break out of her funk. But her summer takes a turn for the better when she meets a boy who works in the bookstore. Josh is cute, sweet, funny…and best of all, seems to like her as much as she likes him. As the days pass by in a blur of boat rides, picnics, and stolen kisses, she can’t believe how lucky she is. No one has ever made her feel so special, or so beautiful.

But Chelsea knows her days with Josh are numbered. She’ll be heading home at the end of the summer—and he’ll be staying behind. Will this be Chelsea’s summer of love? Or will it be the summer of her broken heart?

I loved Michelle Dalton’s Sixteeenth Summer, so I was very excited to read Fifteenth Summer. And it’s the perfect time, for it too! I’m in a total beachy summery mood lately.

Fifteenth Summer was really cute and fun. There were so many aspects of this story that had me giddy and giggling at first love and all the awkwardness that comes along with it.

And yet, Fifteenth Summer actually made me cry, a little which I didn’t expect. From the blurb I knew that her grandmother died, but I didn’t expect such moving story about grief and moving on. I loved that aspect of this story – that even as the family drifted apart and one daughter went off to college, etc. there was still this big monumental loss in their life they all shared and had to deal with it together. I just love reading stories about grief and all the different grieving processes – because it’s never the same.

I was totally nerding out over the independent bookstore that Josh worked at it and all the descriptions that come along with it. There are some really great scenes that had me cracking up – but I don’t want to mention any specifically in case it ruins it for anyone who hasn’t read Fifteenth Summer yet.

Basically, if you enjoy sweet and summery contemporary romance, I definitely recommend picking up Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton! I think Sixteenth Summer will always be my favourite, but Fifteenth Summer is definitely going to be a re-read in the future for me. It’s sweet and adorable and oh-so-awkward, yet still has a deeper underlying theme that I loved.

Other Books by Michelle Dalton

Sixteenth Summer

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Review of The Book of Broken Hearts

Title & Author:
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Publisher:
Simon Pulse
Publication Date:
May 21, 2013
Pages:
352
Source:
Publisher via Edelweiss

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

Sarah Ockler has been on my auto-buy list since her debut, Twenty Boy Summer, several years ago. I have loved every book she’s ever written and The Book of Broken Hearts is absolutely no exception.

Once again, Sarah Ockler has given us a fabulous protagonist in The Book of Broken Hearts. I’ve loved each and every one of her protagonists for different reasons, but Jude is my favourite…I think. She was fiercely protective and loyal of her family, but she was also a teenager. She was mortified by her parents and her sisters, even while she loved them.

I loved Emilio, and his obvious chemistry with Jude. Sarah Ockler always writes really awesome love interests, so my love for Emilio isn’t a surprise to me. I thought Jude and Emilio worked really well together and I loved every second of their developing relationship. Plus, a lot of swoon factor there.

The Book of Broken Hearts deals with deeper issues than romance – and I thought Sarah Ockler did an amazing job portraying Alzheimer’s and how it affects a family. It’s brutal and slow and can tear people apart or bring them closer together.

And still – there’s moments of humor and happiness in The Book of Broken Hearts. Even when dealing with something like Alzheimer’s, Jude and her family still found moments to laugh and I loved that. And I loved that Jude’s sister was a literary agent and that it really played a role in Jude’s relationship with her. Things like that really rounded out the secondary characters for me.

I think a lot of readers will connect with The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler. It’s truly an amazing contemporary, one had me crying at several different points throughout the story. Sarah Ockler writes like no one else – she’s a master at putting together words in just the right way. The Book of Broken Hearts is an emotional and realistic portrayal of a family dealing with a terrible disease and I highly recommend picking it up.

Other Books by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer
Fixing Delilah
Bittersweet

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I’m very excited to have Susanne Winnacker on my blog today as part of the blog tour for Impostor – which sounds awesome, FYI. I can’t wait to read Impostor soon!

So be sure to check out my interview with Susanne and enter to win a copy of Impostor below!

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself. – Goodreads

Susanne Winnacker, the author of Impostor

What is one piece of advice you would give to upcoming debut authors?

Never give up. Rejections are part of the business and they never stop. And don’t believe everything you hear. Just focus on what you really want.

If you could have an extraordinary ability, what would it be and why?

I think I would choose a healing power. One of my biggest fears is that someone I love (or I) gets really sick and there’s nothing anyone can do to make it better.

What interests you about mysteries and sleuthing teens?

I like to be surprised when reading and if a mystery writer manages to keep me in the dark about a killer until the very end, then that’s just wonderful. Mysteries always make me, as a reader, feel like I’m involved in the plot because I along with the main character want to figure out who did it. As for why I’m interested in sleuthing teens: as a teen I often felt like I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to. There were so many things I wanted to change, but it’s sometimes difficult to be taken seriously by adults. If a teen takes action, hunts a killer, tries to solve a mystery that always gives me a feeling of delayed satisfaction. And what I particularly like about sleuthing teens is that they aren’t afraid to take risks and try new things. That’s sometimes the only way to catch a killer!

If you could be the author of any previously published work, which would it be and why?

The first thing that comes to my mind is Harry Potter. I admire J.K. Rowling. The world she created is wonderful and her books manage to unite people of every age and nationality simply by their love for her books. But then I feel like a cheat for even considering it. That’s her world and not mine. And I’m not sure if I could have handled all the pressure and fame as well as she did. Especially when I remind myself of the times when paparazzi search J.K.’s garbage cans for stuff. I don’t even know what they were looking for, maybe dirty secrets, but it made me sick to my stomach. I prefer my anonymous life, so I guess my answer is in theory “Harry Potter”, but really I’m not sure.

What are you working on next? Any info you can share?

I’m editing the sequel to Impostor and I’m also working on a middle grade novel. I’m always working on more than one project. It keeps things interesting!

About Susanne Winnacker

Susanne Winnacker studied law before she became a full-time writer. She lives with her husband, a dog that looks like a sheep and three bunnies that have destroyed every piece of furniture she’s ever owned in Germany. She loves coffee (in every shape and form), traveling and animals. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her in the kitchen, experimenting with new vegan dishes.

Visit Susanne at her website or on Twitter.

Giveaway of Impostor

Want to win a copy of Impostor? Fill out the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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So yes – check out my interview with the lovely Polly Holyoke and enter to win some really great The Neptune Project swag! She sent me several dolphin charms that double as both a necklace or a bookmark – I think they’re super awesome!

With her weak eyes and useless lungs that often leave her gasping for air, Nere feels more at home swimming with the dolphins her mother studies than she does hanging out with her classmates. Nere has never understood why she is so much more comfortable and confident in the water than on land until the day she learns the shocking truth—she is one of a group of kids who have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of the “Neptune Project” are supposed to build a better future under the waves, safe from the terrible famines and wars and that rock the surface world.

But there are some big challenges ahead of her: no one ever asked Nere if she wanted to be part of a science experiment; the other Neptune kids aren’t exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the new Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim across hundreds of miles of dangerous ocean, relying on their wits, their loyal dolphins and one another to evade terrifying undersea creatures and a government that will stop at nothing to capture the Neptune kids … dead or alive.

Fierce battle and daring escapes abound as Nere and her friend race to safety in this action-packed marine adventure. – Goodreads

Polly Holyoke, the author of The Neptune Project

Why do you write middle grade? What draws you to the age group?

I love the fact that middle grade readers are willing to believe. They haven’t become cynical yet. They will accept and like even the wildest stories as long as the writer sets up the world and the plot of his or her book well.

What inspired the world you created in The Neptune Project?

I’ve always enjoyed scuba diving, and I wanted to give kids a chance to experience the world under the waves. My generation had the undersea adventures of Jacques Cousteau to watch each week on television, but the main source of information today for kids about the sea seems to Shark Week. That collection of programs is enough to keep anyone from ever swimming the ocean again!

How did you go about researching The Neptune Project?

Okay, so now I have to admit I spent some time watching Shark Week. But I spent a great deal more time reading up on oceanography and visiting scuba diving sites. I also went snorkeling with wild spinner dolphins in Hawaii, which was incredible. Spinner dolphins are amazingly acrobatic and leap out of the water in high, spinning leaps. They also travel in large schools and constantly squeak and whistle to each other. Swimming along with 200 of them is an experience I’ll never forget.

If you could be the author of any already published work, which would it be and why?

I absolutely love Archangel by Sharon Shinn. I think that book has a clever premise, a wonderful love story and terrific world building.

Are you working on anything next? Any details you can share?

I’ve completed a second Neptune book that explains the origins of mysterious Dai and his friends. My British publisher, Puffin UK, has already bought that sequel, and I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that Disney Hyperion buys it as well.

About Polly Holyoke

Polly Holyoke grew up in Colorado, where she spent her childhood skiing, camping, reading, and dreaming up fantastical stories. Polly went on to graduate from Middlebury College and become a middle school social studies teacher. She lives in Plano, Texas with her husband and their two daughters, as well as two cats, two Chihuahuas, and a Beagle.

Visit Polly at her website or on Twitter.

Giveaway of The Neptune Project swag

Polly Holyoke sent me really adorable dolphin charms that double as both bookmarks and necklaces. And you could win one! All you have to do is leave a comment below – I’ll be giving out three, open internationally.

While you’re here, you can subscribe to my feed :)

It’s Bout of Books time again! I love doing Bout of Books – this is my fourth time doing it. I aced it the first time and failed miserably the second and third, hah. Hopefully fourth time is the charm :)

My book list is totally playing off of my Books Before BEA post. I’ve read some of the ones listed there and now it’s time to knock out the rest!

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Parallel by Lauren Miller
Transparent by Natalie Whipple
Loki’s Wolves by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Linked by Imogen Howson
You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Goals

Read at least seven books out of the ten listed
Comment on at least fifteen blogs
Respond to all comments left on my blog
Write a review for every book read on the day I read it

Pretty simple, huh? I’m hoping for a book a day and maybe I can squeeze in a bit more! These books are a combination of debuts, ARCs, and e-galleys, so I’m pretty happy to knock some off of each list with these books :) I’ve also got a few manuscripts I need to read for my internship, so I’ll be cheating and including those in my total! It kind of counts, right?

Updates

I’ll be updating this post daily!

Monday

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Total number of books I’ve read:
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Tuesday

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Wednesday

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Thursday

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Friday

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Saturday

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Sunday

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