Tuesday, August 31, 2010

OMG!!! (In this case the G stands for Godless) It's LUC!

The amazing Vania has done it again!

Finally!!!! Here is the scorch-your-eyes-out-hot Personal Demons book trailer #2. And it's...

LUC!

About half the guesses last week were for Luc's trailer, so apparently, he's got a few fans already. (Dudes, his head is already swollen enough!)

So, for Team Luc, here it is...


If you like it, go tell Vania (@reverieBR) and use #thehotnessthatisLuc hashtag! And if you missed the Gabe trailer you can find in here or in my sidebar! =)

Bribery works!

Did you check out the ticker over there--->

That's right! Personal Demons releases in TWO WEEKS! To celebrate, #thehotnessthatisLuc will debut right here this afternoon! It's coming! Are you ready for HOT???


Grrr....

But, before we get to that, I wanted to thank all of you who checked in to tell me what you thought of my website on my Post in Which I Bribe You With Fabulous Prizes! Your feedback was very helpful and I appreciate it. So, I'm choosing one random commenter to win the Personal Demons swag pack, which is a $25 Amazon gift certificate (which you're free to use to preorder Personal Demons, btw ;p), a Personal Demons tank top, signed bookmarks, and Team Luc and Team Gabe tattoos.

So, the winner, as chosen by the randomizer is...

Vampires and Tofu!!!

Congrats!!!

YA Addict's Re-create a Personal Demons Cover contest is in the third round of voting, so stop by and vote on your favorite cover. There are some amazing ones up! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Don't forget to stop in later for LUC!!!!!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Meet Luc!

Y'all are gonna stop believing me, but I totally PROMISE that there will be a smokin'-hot Luc trailer tomorrow. Vania is editing furiously, so we'll have a scorch-your-eyes-out video ready to debut tomorrow, right here on the blog.

But...

in the mean time, I can titillate you with some pictures of Frannie and Luc from Vania's shoot.

You guys ready for HOT????

Take a look at this...

*drools*

And, this one...

Who wants to be Frannie???

Then there's this one...

Yeah, that's what I said. #handmethefan O_O

So, tomorrow! #thehotnessthatisLuc! I cross my heart and hope to die!!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

August Debut Winner!!

Okay, okay! I know! I promised you a super-hot, scorch-your-eyes-out, Luc trailer today. But...due to technical difficulties (read: uncooperative models) the Luc trailer debut has been postponed until Monday. :*(  Vania promises me we'll have something amazing to show you then. So, in the mean time, I'll announce the August Debut Contest winner to keep you occupied.

But, first, there were some questions in the comments for the August Debut Contest, so let me answer those for you:

Wulfluva asks: Since both Luc and Gabriel are in your book, is Michael?
Yes, he is, actually. But don't expect warm and fuzzy.

Mireyah Wolfe: I'd love to know what kind of research you did for the mythology of the Angels & such--books or websites, etc?
I relied heavily on the internet, but also found some excellent sources at the library. The beauty of writing fiction is that it doesn't matter if your sources are factual or how accurate they are. If anything you read sets off that creative spark, it's a great resource. For example: When I started writing Personal Demons, all I had was a name: Lucifer Cain. I went on-line to research the story of Cain and Abel and found a post that talked about the origin of sin. It kept using the phrase "creatures of sin." I turned that over in my mind and thought, in my fictional Hell, why couldn't there be actual creatures of sin. That shaped Luc, who is a demon and a true Creature of Pride.

Looksie Lovitz: I would love to know what some of the books are you favorites this year or what you're looking forward to.
I'm jumping on the Mockingjay bandwagon. It's the only book I've bought and read on release day. Others I've loved are (in order of release) The DUFF  by Kody Keplinger (Sept 2010), Nightshade by my fab critique partner, Andrea Cremer (Oct 2010), and Matched by Ally Condie (Nov 2010).

April: Of course, I'm curious to what you do with the books in the giveaways that aren't picked?
Honestly, the ones I'm truly dying for (which are many of them), I buy and read. The others never get bought.

Bee: Did you always want to write urban fantasy or have you experimented with other genres as well? What's your biggest writing dream?
Personal Demons is my first attempt at urban fantasy. I started writing just two years ago, so, other than the Personal Demons series, I've only written a few other things, both YA. My biggest writing dream is coming true. Reviews are posting for Personal Demons and people are loving my characters almost as much as I do. That's all I could ever ask.

Bookaholic: My question to you is-Now that your baby is ready and is soon gonna be released, how are you feeling?
Totally freaked out. As I said, the reviews so far have been great, so I'm hoping someone besides my family might actually go out and buy Personal Demons. *bites nails*

Thanks for your questions! So, the contest. Remember, this months winner gets the VERY LAST unclaimed Personal Demons ARC if they so choose. Is it you????

So, here we go. The winner of THE VERY LAST Personal Demons ARC, or another August debut, as chosen by the randomizer is:

*drumroll*



Eleni @ La Femme Readers!!!!

Congrats!!!

*blows virtual noisemakers* (cuz the real ones hurt my ears)

Eleni gets her choice of the VERY LAST signed Personal Demons ARC or one of the following:
Freak Observer Blythe Woolston
Nevermore Kelly Creagh
Wildfire Run Dee Garretson
Paranormalcy Kiersten White

Remember that the contests aren't over! Starting next month I will be offering up signed finished copies of Personal Demons, along with other great debuts. Check back on Wednesday for the start of my September Debut Contest! :p

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Seriously, the funniest book review I've ever read.

I finished Mockingjay last night, and it was good...and...uh...that's all I got for you. My characters are sucking me dry right now, but I'm half way through writing Hellbent and I can't believe the crap that's going down, so...because I got nothing for you today, I'll share the funniest book review I've ever read, and it's not Mockingjay, in case you were worried.

This is a Personal Demons review posted earlier this week by The Naughty Book Kitties. Any review of my own book that can make me pee my pants laughing deserves to be shared. For those of you with sensitive eyes, I have replaced Brent's f-bombs, but the rest is uniquely his.

Personal Demons Is My Personal Hooker

*cover and synopsis skipped*

Brent's opinion of the novel:
Let me start off this review by saying that Lisa Desrochers is one cool as f$*# person. After a few email exchanges, I immediately thought “Damn. This is my kinda writer person.” She threatened to unfollow me on Twitter!! … and confessed her psycho-ness to me. So, I had pretty much already decided Lisa was one of my most favorite writers!!!

Frannie Cavanaugh, the sweet Catholic girl having doubts about her faith, doesn’t know what in the hell to do with herself when she starts catching an eye for the two new boys in town. There’s Luc, who works in the acquisitions department of Hell, tagging souls to be sent to Hades. Both Luc and the King of Hell want her bad… but so do the Angels, and they’ve sent one of their best to get her. Gabe. But does Frannie know any of this shit?! No. All she thinks is, “Damn, Luc’s pretty dark and sexy, but Gabe’s gotta nice ass.”

Frannie is one lucky mofo. Two hot guys at the same time?! I mean, get real! There’s no way that happens without luck! (Unless you wear a lot of eyeliner… but that’s another story altogether.) I’ma be honest with cha: I was jealous of Frannie, at some points. Even though she has been through some rough stuff, she had a pretty cool family and amazing friends and TWO HOT GUYS. I mean, damn. Send one over to me. Frannie be rollin’ all up in ‘at hot-boy-dough. But really, I’m not saying her life was perfect! Just that she had a lot of stuff that should’ve been appreciated more. I loved Frannie, I really did. (Is the word “really” experiencing a renaissance in my vocabulary? I think so…) She’s a character easy to relate with. She’s not perfect, she makes mistakes, just like us. Lisa Dez crafted Frannie perfectly. ;)

Luc! Gurah! Omg. Hot. Sexy. Bitchy. Sarcastic. Bad to thah bone. Hot. Hot. Sexy. Hot. YES! Luc! He has got to be one of my favorite men of 2010 YA Lit. And I don’t even know why! In real life, I go for really hot, sweet boys. And that’s usually what appeals to me in books, as well! I seriously hate bitchy sarcastic dudes. But I loved Luc. Even though he was all “I’m so cool and hot, Mr. Acquisitions of Hell. Everyone wants me” I could tell he had a soft side. And, as he grew closer to Frannie, that soft side came out. Yes, I think Gabe is equally alluring, but I AM SO TEAM LUC! Suck it, Gabe.

I loved the use of humor in Personal Demons. It kind of keeps it from being melodramatic, while still upholding the high tension levels. Lisa Dez did that perfect, as well. She added new elements to an old storyline, Heaven vs. Hell. Good vs. Bad. Which is eaxactly what writers are supposed to do. Each story has already been told, so writers tell these stories with a new spin and original voice. Lisa is definitely an author I’ll be following. :)

I know this sounds corny, but I loved every page of Personal Demons. (Please don’t call me a YA blogging hooker! I try not to sound corny, but sometimes I’m unable to!) The characters were real and funny, the plot was “Damn, girl,” and the ending was like “F&%#, now I gotta go hooker myself out to the publisher so I can get the sequel SOON!”
 
Thanks for the review, Brent. I still LOL every time I read it! :p

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Vote on a Personal Demons cover!!

We've decided it was fun being royal yesterday, so we're not quite ready to give it up. Plus we're still reading Mockingjay (Blame Luc. He demanded I write this whole really warped scene in Hellbent yesterday that lead to writing a few chapters then going back and tweaking Original Sin to tie it all in.) so we're still on radio silence while we finish.

But...

YA Addict is running a oh-so-very cool Re-create a Cover Contest for Personal Demons and the first round of voting starts today! I'm posting a smattering of the entries below to whet your appetite. And can I just say, WOW! All of the entries are amazing. Get thee over to her blog and vote for your favorites!

This one is drool worthy in more ways than I can describe. I mean, scorch my eyes out of their sockets hot:

There are a few with the "split cover" design with Heaven on one side and Hell on the other. This one is seriously amazing. I would totally pick this book up off the shelf. Check out her hands:

This one, I love. The devils tail and the feathers...way cool:

And the sky in this one is perfect, plus the guys are totally hot:

A couple of people when for Graceling thing with the eyes. This first one blows me away:

And this one is really cool with the contrasting colors (and the eyes):

And some are simple and sweet:

These are just a few of the fabulous entries, so go over and check them out. Feel free to leave comments here, but vote on YA Addict's blog. Votes left here won't count. And a huge THANKS and good luck to everyone who entered!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mockingjay hiatus

We (that would be the royal we) interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast for Mockingjay. We (still the royal we) will be NO WHERE NEAR the internet today while we (royal) finish the book.

See you back here tomorrow with some totally amazing Personal Demons Cover Re-creation contest entries. If you haven't entered yet, get thee over to YA Addict's blog and enter for a shot at a signed Personal Demons ARC. (Did you catch that. We sound very royal, don't you think?)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Book Trailers

Thanks to all of you who stopped here or at Vania's blog to check out the Gabe trailer for Personal Demons. According to Youtube, there were 400 views this weekend. I really appreciate all the support and comments. You guys are the best. =)

Congrats to all the winners of my "guess the trailer" contest, and thanks to all of you who entered. If you guessed Gabe and left me your email addy, you have been notified. I'm waiting for the tattoos to come in (this week) and I will send your packages out as soon as I have them =)

And, because I still have trailers on the brain (can't wait to show you Luc later this week!!!), I have a question for you. It's a question that I've seen floating around in writer's circles for a few years now. Here it is:

Have you ever seen a book trailer that's intrigued you enough that you went out and bought the book?

Publishers are putting money into all kinds of targeted marketing, and in the YA genre, that often includes trailers. But no one really seems to have an answer to that question. Do trailers sell books?

I've seen some beautiful trailers, many of them done by VLC Productions (that would be Vania). I've found many of them interesting, and a handful have even sent me on-line to buy the book. But in all those cases, I already wanted it.

So, what do you say? Have you ever bought a book because of a trailer? Inquiring minds want to know?

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Two seriously cool ways of winning Personal Demons!

Dudes! You want a copy of Personal Demons? There are two totally fun contests going on right now, but both end on Tuesday (8/24), so get your butts over there!

First is YA Addict's Cover Re-creation Contest. Do you like the Personal Demons cover? Do you not like it? Think it should be hotter? Sweeter? Darker? Either way, here's your chance to show us your ideas on a new PD cover. I'm DYING to see what y'all come up with! The winner gets a signed ARC =)

Second, Luc is taking questions over on Paranormal Point of View. All you have to do is ask him a question for a shot at winning the VERY FIRST signed finished copy of Personal Demons. You ever been inside a demons head? It's surprising the things you'll find in there. Go ask him stuff.

Good luck!!! Happy reading =)

Friday, August 20, 2010

The First Personal Demons Book Trailer

Here it is, the first of three Personal Demons book trailers. Who will it be? Frannie? Luc? Gabe? Did you guess right?

Hint: It was the one LEAST guessed in comments.

Another hint:

Do you know who it is???

Without further adieu…oh, wait. Just a little adieu, okay? Cuz I want to thank the amazing Vania for coming up with such a fun idea and putting all this together. There seems to be a serious lack of hot guys in Atlanta (well, this time of year they’re probably all hot, but not in the right way) so finding a Luc and Gabe was a bit of a challenge. But Vania came through for me. =)

Okay, so, now, without further adieu, here’s the first of the three Personal Demons teaser trailers.

*drum roll*



If you guessed Gabe and left me an email addy, I will be contacting you for mailing info. Congrats and thanks to everyone who entered! Don’t forget to check back next Friday for the next trailer. For all you Luc fans, you won’t want to miss it. *burn my eyeballs out of their sockets hot* :p

Thursday, August 19, 2010

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!! And another contest!

Okay, it’s exciting to me, anyway. But before I get to that, I wanted to tell you that Luc is taking questions over on Paranormal Point of View for the next few days. Hop on over there and ask him something for a chance to win a signed copy of Personal Demons. (but that's not the contest I was taliking about in the header--keep reading)

So, the announcement... The fabulous Vania, better known to some as @reverieBR, is doing the Personal Demons trailers. That’s not a typo. Trailers, as in multiple.

Vania, being the Queen of Tease, had the idea to do three teaser trailers, one for each MC in Personal Demons. Tomorrow, we’ll be debuting the first of those trailers. Here's some of her other stuff, to whet your appetite in the mean time.






Awesome, yeah? So, it sounds like time for another CONTEST!!! A simple one this time.

Here’s the deal. Tomorrow’s trailer will be either Frannie, Luc or Gabe. Tell me which one you think it will be in comments below. EVERYBODY who guesses right (one guess only, and if you enter more than once, only your first entry will count) gets Personal Demons swag (signed bookmarks and Team Luc and Team Gabe temporary tattoos)! Yay!

Include your email addy so I can reach you when you win!

The contest runs through whenever I get around to putting up the trailer tomorrow, so don’t wait to enter! And, sorry my lovely international friends, but open to US and Canada only. But remember my other two contests are open to everybody. Get your backside over to my August debut contest if you want a chance to win the VERY LAST unclaimed Personal Demons ARC, and to my Bribery post to win Personal Demons swag!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

In which I mourn summer before it's actually gone.

You know that crisp, clean air of fall? And the beauty of the red and gold leaves rippling like fire over the hillsides in the fresh fall breeze?

I hate it.

I actually have lots of things to look forward to in the fall. Both of my kids birthdays are coming up in the next few months and Personal Demons birthday is also thrown in there this year. And that’s all very exciting. But… I’m a summer person.

It’s like summer was designed just for me. Even though I don’t get a real “summer break,” it’s still nice not to have to be up at the crack of dawn to blast my kids out of bed with dynamite. I like those slow summer mornings when I can get up and get ready for work at my own pace without having to holler at my kids every two minutes that they’re about to miss the bus.

And, speaking of the crack of dawn, I hate it when that and sunset get closer together. It’s already getting dark so much earlier. Ack!

And, I really dislike the cold and rain. It’s hot in the summer where I live, and it never rains between May and September. So sun? We have it, and I like it.

But, what I like most about summer is this.
Those are some of the last of my summer tomatoes. I offered you guys my cherries this spring. That’s the first of my summer bounty. The tomatoes and figs are always the last. I’m in no way a master gardener. I just checked my thumbs and they’re kind of this ocher color that’s a little more brown than green. But that doesn’t stop me from planting stuff and really enjoying the part of that stuff that doesn’t die.

So, I’m already mourning summer, even though it’s not quite gone. Guess I should snap out of it and enjoy the bit of summer that’s left. Excuse me while I go to the beach. With a book. Or two.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Tuesday Teasers

Okay, so I admit it. I'm lonely on Tuesdays now that my Tuesday Personal Demons previews are done. I could count on so many of you, my seriously cool followers, to stop by and visit on Tuesdays when there was actually something fun here to read instead of my mostly pointless ramblings.

But, I have to accept that Personal Demons is out there in the world now. I have to learn to let her go. *sniffles* My baby is growing up and making new friends, and all I can do at this point is hope I've taught her to make wise decisions. So far she seems to be doing okay--hanging out with a good crowd, not getting into any real trouble.

I'm really trying to let her live her life and not lurk, but I can't help checking up on her here and there. Here are a few Tuesday Teasers from friends she's made along the way. They've all chosen teasers that weren't included in my previews. Interesting that all the teasers are from Luc's POV. Frannie's trying not to take it personally. =)


A Good Addiction
Addicted 2 Novels
Cry Havoc! Reviews

Monday, August 16, 2010

In which I bribe you with fabulous prizes!

I have books

and an official website. Does that make me an author? I’m just starting to think maybe it’s okay to call myself that. “Author” sounds so formal, don’t you think? It’s like the first time someone calls you Mrs. So-and-so after you get married. It just feels weird.

Anyway, the point of this post isn’t to muse about my authorly status. It’s to tell you that my website went live last week. Yay! We’re still updating some things, but it’s pretty much up and running and I’m really excited about it. Here is my book page, with all kinds of quotes and stuff about Personal Demons. And here is my events list. We’re still firming up the schedule, but this is what I have so far. If you’re in Seattle or California and want to come out to chat, I’d love to meet you! =)

And, to celebrate my website going live and my 450 seriously cool followers here on the blog, I’m having a CONTEST! Here’s the deal. One lucky winner will receive a Personal Demons prize pack, including a $25 Amazon gift card, signed bookmarks, a Personal Demons tank top

and Team Luc

and Team Gabe

temporary tattoos. (The tattoos are actual size. The tank top is bigger in real life :p)

All you have to do to enter is check out my website and tell me what you think in comments on this post. I’d love to know if it’s easy to navigate. Do you like the design? Is there enough info? Too much? Anything you would change?

One random winner (must be a blog follower) will be chosen on August 30th. You can recieve one extra entry by following me on twitter @LisaDez and a second extra entry for tweeting this contest or posting it on your blog.

Thanks for your input! You guys rock! =)

Friday, August 13, 2010

OMG!! I haz my BOOK!!!!

They totally weren't joking! They made Personal Demons into an actual book! LOOKIE!!!

There's a back cover too!

Pretty amazing, yeah? There's even words inside! See!

All that stuff in there...? I wrote that! REALLY!

So to celebrate ONE MONTH until release, I'm going to cuddle with my books. I'm a cheap date, what can I say. =)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Write On!!!...con

Today is the final day of WriteOnCon, but before you get all "No fair! I didn't know!" if you missed anything it's all up on the site. You can go back and read/watch anything you missed. =)

Here are some of my favorites so far:
Live Chat with Suzie Townsend (because she's my truly fabulous agent and she mentions Personal Demons :p)
Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Revising by Kendra Levin
Becoming a Career Author by Catherine Drayton
Romance in YA by Lisa Schroeder
Writing Authentic/Edgy Teen Literature by the FABULOUS Kody Keplinger (they didn't have the fabulous thing in there, but...)
Panel of Professionals chat LIVE (Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend, Mary Kole) Topic was voice.

Lots of seriously mind-blowing stuff!

Here's today's line-up:

Thursday, Aug 12:
6:00 AM: Writing With a Real Life by author Lindsey Leavitt
7:00 AM: Writing Advice from PJ Hoover and the Texas Sweethearts
8:00 AM: Writing Realistic, Captivating Dialog by author Tom Leveen
8:30 AM: Author Branding by author Shelli Johannes-Wells
9:00 AM: How to have a Successful Author Event at a Bookstore by Calondra McArthur
10:00 AM: Q&A by literary agent Steven Malk
10:30 AM: Writing a Complete Story Even Though it’s Part of a Trilogy by author Michelle Zink
11:00 AM: From Submission to Acquisition: An Editor’s Choose Your Own Adventure by editor Martha Mihalick
12:00 PM: Transitioning from Adult to YA by author Risa Green
1:00 PM: Rhyme in Picture Books by author Tiffany Strelitz
2:00 PM: The First Five Pages by Kathleen Ortiz
3:00 PM: Writing Thrillers for Young Adults by author Kimberly Derting
3:30 PM: Picture Books and Easy Readers by author Shelley Thomas
4:00 PM: Staying positive in the face of rejections by author Crystal Stranaghan
5:00 PM: Avoiding Character Stereotypes by literary agent Mary Kole
6:00 PM: Creating New Mythologies by author Aprilynne Pike
9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals chat LIVE (Michelle Andelman, Molly O’Neill, Kate Testerman)
10:30 PM: The Revision Process from Both Sides of the Desk, a live Workshop with literary agent/author Regina Brooks

Get over there and check it out! And thanks to Elena Johnson and the crew for doing such a fabulous job!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Holy guacamole!

You guys won’t believe all the totally amazing information over on WriteOnCon! For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past few days, WriteOnCon is a FREE on line writers conference going on RIGHT NOW! You can click through on the link above, or the ticker on my sidebar. There is SO MUCH awesomesauce over there that I feel like I’m drowning in it! Here’s today’s line up:

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

6:00 AM: Romance in YA by author Lisa Schroeder
7:00 AM: Plot and Pacing by author/literary agent Weronika Janczuk, part one, two, and three (series of 3, posted every 20 minutes).
8:00 AM: Using an Independent Publicist by author Lauren Becker
9:00 AM: The Revision Process by author Cynthea Liu, part one, two, and three (series of 3, posted every 20 minutes)
10:00 AM: Transition From Self-Published to Traditional Publishing by author Jennifer Fosberry
10:30 AM: Joanna Volpe’s query critique
11:00 AM: Live blogging event: Queries with literary agent Natalie Fischer
12:00 PM: Creating Memorable Characters by literary agent/author Mandy Hubbard
1:00 PM: Reaching Out to Schools and Libraries Before You’re Published by author Stasia Ward Kehoe
2:00 PM: Sex in YA: The ABC’s of Hooking Up by author Suzanne Young
Live chat with literary agent Natalie Fischer
3:00 PM: Keynote Address by author Lindsay Eland
3:30 PM: Writing Genre Fiction by author Julia Karr
4:00 PM: Do’s and Don’t’s of Querying by literary agent Kate Testerman
5:00 PM: Authentic/Edgy YA by author Kody Keplinger
6:00 PM: How to Make a Character Collage by author Tera Lynn Childs
7:00 PM: Live chat with literary agent Jennifer Laughran
9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals chat LIVE (Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend, Mary Kole)
10:30 PM: Building an Online Presence, a live Workshop with author Daisy Whitney

Did you guys see who’s up at 9pm? Yep, that’s my truly fabulous agent, Suzie! A panel with an editor and three amazing agents! Don’t miss it!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Personal Demons Reviews, oh my!

I got my Original Sin revisions to my editor yesterday morning. YAY! For all of you fabulous bloggers who are waiting on interviews, I’m working on getting caught up. In the mean time, here are a few Personal Demons reviews that have started popping up in the blogosphere =)

"Honestly, one of the best YA's I have read all year."
—Wicked Lil Pixie (read the full review here)

"It's exciting and heart-racing and there's a twist when it comes to Luc, which is always fun."
—Juniper Breeze (read the full review here)

"Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers is one of those books that'll trigger the obsession switch in your brain."
—Omnomnom Books (read the full review here)

"There is romance, tension and intrigue all with a PG rating."
—BookHounds (read the full review here)

Monday, August 9, 2010

Duffy Rules!!

My very good friend, and one of the sweetest people I know, happens to have a fabulous book coming out in ONE MONTH!

*throws virtual confetti*

If you have not yet checked out Kody Keplinger’s The DUFF, get your butts over to Amazon and pre-order it.

Here’s my Goodreads review of The DUFF:
Kody Keplinger’s debut is nothing short of amazing. Her main character, Bianca, is authentically 17, struggling through authentic 17-year-old insecurities and self-doubt. Throw in some pretty serious family issues, and Bianca finds herself in over her head. Watching Bianca struggle—and find distraction in all the wrong places (read: studly man-whore, Wesley Rush)—I found myself cringing, laughing and crying in equal parts, and couldn’t wait to see how it would all turn out.

So, what are you waiting for?

Friday, August 6, 2010

Holy literary lexicon, Batman! A FREE on-line writers conference!

If you write, have written, or are thinking about writing, here's an opportunity you so totally don't want to miss. The organizational goddess, Elana Johnson (Control Issues, 2011), and a crew of others has organized a FREE three day on-line writers conference, WriteOnCon, with some TOTALLY AMAZING presenters. There is information here for published authors, soon to be published authors and aspiring writers at every stage of the process. I strongly encourage you to CHECK IT OUT!

Just to get you drooling, here's the line-up for Tuesday (day 1)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010:
6:00 AM: Keynote Vlog Address by author Josh Berk
7:00 AM: Refining Your Craft with Each Book by author Janette Rallison
8:00 AM: Making the Most of Your Advance (no matter its size) by literary agent Michelle Wolfson
9:00 AM: Myths and Misconceptions by literary agent Holly Root, and editors Molly O’Neill and Martha Mihalick
10:00 AM: Illustrating Children’s Books by J.H. Everett and studio
11:00 AM: Bringing the Funny by author Rachel Hawkins
12:00 PM: Becoming a Career Author by literary agent Catherine Drayton
1:00 PM: Writing Middle Grade by author Jon Lewis
2:00 PM: Voice by literary agent Elana Roth
3:00 PM: Writing a Query Letter by author Jodi Meadows
4:00 PM: Author Branding by author Shelli Wells
5:00 PM: Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Revision by editor Kendra Levin
6:00 PM: Pizza in the Face (how characters react to situations) by author Rosemary Clement-Moore
9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals (Elana Roth, Kathleen Ortiz, Dan Ehrenhaft, Martha Mihalick) TOPIC: Online platform
10:30 PM: Working with Agents and Editors, a live Workshop with literary agent Mark McVeigh

You can click the link above, or the ticker on my sidebar, to get all the information you need to participate! I'll be passing along information here next week and updating you on schedules. I'll see you there!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Personal Demons Cover and a peek at the first 48 pages on Amazon

First, I want to mention that Amazon has added the "LOOK INSIDE" feature to the Personal Demons listing, so when you go over there to *blushes and shuffles feet* buy the book, you can read through the first 48 pages. (There are actually a few pages missing, but it's essentially the first 2&1/2 chapters)

While you're there, however, you'll probably notice that the cover I have posted here and on my website is not the same as the one on Amazon (or B&N for that matter). There has been a TON of confusion over the Personal Demons cover (even amongst industry professionals), so I'm hoping to clear that up.

Here is the official Personal Demons cover:

This is the one on the sidebar to the right and on my website. If you'd like a countdown ticker for your blog, you can find the code here.
Many of you have seen the ARC cover:

This was up on my blog before we had the finished cover. It was created solely for the ARC because we were late getting the finished cover done. My Tor Art guy, Seth, put this one together for the ARC, and I love it.

This is the one that's currently up on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. It was an early attempt that was rejected for several reasons, including that my MC is blond/blue. It was apparently uploaded by the Tor Art Dept. in error a few months back and even though the new cover was uploaded by Tor a month ago, it's taking the stores a while to catch on.

Some of you are running contests for Personal Demons. (See contest links at the top of the page if you want to enter.) If you linked the cover pic on your blog to Amazon's website, you would have noticed some shenanigans yesterday. For the last few weeks, Amazon had the new cover up, but when they added the "look inside" feature night before last, the cover reverted to the old one. You would have seen the picture on your blog change as well if you're linked to Amazon. O_O

Sorry for all the craziness and thanks for your patience. Hope that clears up the confusion.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Good-bye Singapore

I'm officially home from Singapore. I got home Monday afternoon, but Monday was my August Debut Contest post, and yesterday was the final (and best) Personal Demons teaser. So today you get all my pictures.

Singapore was amazing. Very multicultural. Everywhere I went, I saw something I'd never seen before. I went there to teach a medical seminar and had a fun group of phyios, dentists, nurses and the like. Here we all are:

I also had the good fortune of staying with a (now) friend, who fed me things I never would have known existed. Like this, the durian--king of fruits:

She told me it's classified in the "fruit that will fall from the tree and kill you" genus because the outside is really hard and those spiky things are SHARP. You pull it open and eat the stuff around the seeds, which is the texture of goat cheese and tastes...interesting. Not my favorite thing, but I'm glad I tried it.

We went to temples.

We went to the botanic gardens

and the zoo for the "night safari," which was fun.









There's also this immense ferris wheel thing that they call the Singapore Flyer. You get in one of these moving room thingies:

and go up like this:

Very fun.

I'm pretty sure it's going to take me the rest of my life to get over the 15 hour time change. I'm going to bed now.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Sneak Peek #8: Personal Demons

Sadly, this is the last of my Personal Demons sneak peaks. It's just over a month until release. I hope y'all are excited to read the rest. =)

If you want to read the other sneak peeks first, you can find them here.



For my last preview, I wanted to give you some more insight into Luc's and Gabe's relationship. As you might have guessed, they have a history, and it's a long one. Here is their first exchange after the party at the opening of chapter four.


Luc

Monday morning and the hall is crowded with hot, sticky bodies. Mmm…just like home. And then I feel it. That itch in my sixth sense. Gabriel.

I swing my locker shut, turn, and there he is, leaning against the wall next to room 616, talking to Frannie. And she’s smiling up at him and laughing—and flirting—and blushing.

That bastard’s cheating!

Suddenly, I’m flooded with some unrecognizable emotion mixed with rage, and all I want is Gabriel’s bloody head in my hands. Except angels don’t bleed even when you rip their heads off.

In three long strides I’m across the hall. I realize I’m grimacing and tone it down to my best smirk. “Gabriel.”

Frannie looks a little out of it when she turns to me. “Oh… Hey Luc.”

Gabriel smiles. “Lucifer.”

“So nice to see you. What brings you to the humble halls of Haden High?”

“Same as you, dude. A quality education,” he smirks.

Frannie’s eyes clear a little and shift warily between us. “Play nice.” She turns back to Gabriel and touches his arm. “If you need any help writing up that physics lab…”

My rage bubbles dangerously close to the surface. I feel my power surge. “You’re in physics together?” I say, glaring laser beams at Gabriel.

Frannie’s beaming at him in a whole different way. “Gabe is my new lab partner.”

“Really…” I growl through gritted teeth.

He shrugs away from the wall and shifts closer to Frannie. “Just lucky, I guess.”

Luck’s got nothing to do with it. More like divine intervention.

My appraising eyes shift to Frannie. No real damage done. None that I can’t fix anyway. “So, history?” I say.

“Oh, yeah. Let me grab my book.” As she moves across the hall, her brow creases. She shakes her head once, pushing off the fog. I turn back to Gabriel as she twists her lock.

“So why did they send you anyway? Seems like overkill. Any run-of-the-mill angel could fail as spectacularly as you’re going to.”

“We’ll see,” he says. I don’t like the confident smirk on his face. He knows something I don’t.

I put on my poker face as I fish for information. “You and I both know you would have tagged her already if you could. What’s the hold up? A little too much devil in her?”

He’s still smug, but the frustration in his undertone gives him away. I hit a nerve. “You’re still the same stupid chump you’ve always been. All that pride and arrogance that got you here in the first place. I’d think after all these millennia…you have no clue why you’re here, do you? What the deal is with her?” he asks.

Now he hit a nerve. I struggle to keep my composure. He doesn’t need to know he’s right. “All that matters is Frannie’s soul will be tagged for Hell—soon.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” he jabs. And if I could kill him, I would, but I’ve tried before and it didn’t work out so hot. Turns out the cherub is tougher than he looks.

Then Frannie’s back. She brushes against my elbow and a tingle courses through me. “Ready?” she says.

“Yep. Let’s go.” I place my fingertips in the small of her back and guide her down the hall. He may need to cheat, but I don’t. No power, just charm.

Monday, August 2, 2010

August Debut Contest!

So, here it is: your last chance to win a signed Personal Demons ARC. By the end of September's contest, I'll have finished copies, so September's winner will get a signed BOOK! OMGOMGOMG!!! But, I'm not freaking out or anything. Really... O_O

Also, remember that tomorrow is the VERY LAST Personal Demons sneak peek, so don't forget to stop by and check it out. Hot boys fighting. You don't want to miss it!

So, here's my August Debut contest. You all know how this works by now. I run this contest every month to support my fellow YA/MG 2010 debut authors. To that end (that sounds so professional, don't you think :p) I've listed my four debut picks below. The winner will have their choice of one of these fine titles, or a signed Personal Demons ARC.

Okay, so the contest: All you have to do to enter is comment on this post by noon (PST) on Friday, August 27th. Nothing fancy, you can just say hi or ask a question. (I love to answer questions, especially about my books!) In addition to commenting (for which you get one point) you can accumulate extra points as follows:
Old blog follower: +3 points
New blog follower: +2 points
Follow me on Twitter (@LisaDez) +2 points
Link to my contest post on your blog or twitter: +1 point
Dedicated post with link to my contest on your website/blog: +3 points
Add me to your blogroll: +2 points

Also on your entry, please remember to tell me how to find you (email address). And remember, there will be no rollover points. Points start new every month.

The winner will be chosen by the randomizer and posted on the blog after noon on August 27th. The winner will then have their choice of one of the following:
a signed Personal Demons ARC by moi (that's me, in case you don't speak French) =)
Freak Observer Blythe Woolston
Nevermore Kelly Creagh
Wildfire Run Dee Garretson
Paranormalcy Kiersten White

Good luck!! =)