Top Ten Paranormal Books by Amy Garvey, Author of Cold Kiss!

Top Ten Paranormal Books 

My favorite! I love scary books (and movies and TV and haunted houses). I read a lot of really bad horror when the genre was at its pulpy, mass-market height way back when, and I love that it’s coming back now, and the books are even better. Some of the books below aren’t horror, per se, but they all have that paranormal twist, and I think you all should run right out and read them. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

1) Jane-Emily, by Patricia Clapp. I’m not even sure if this is still in print; I bought it at a Scholastic Book Fair at school when I was in fourth grade, and I still have my very worn, falling-apart original copy. It’s still a great read even now, which is the mark of a really good book. It’s 1912, and Louisa is taking her niece Jane to her grandmother’s house after her parents (Louisa’s sister and her husband) are killed in a carriage accident. But there’s a spirit waiting in the quiet house in Lynn, and it wants Jane … Spooky and atmospheric, and Louisa and Jane both are spunky and likeable.

2) Ghosts I Have Been, Richard Peck. The second in the Blossom Culp books, but this time the psychic Blossom has visions of the Titanic sinking. Set in 1913 – I was a sucker for historical set fiction then, and still am. Richard Peck is all-around genius, too – any of his books are worth reading.

3) The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson. One of the creepiest books I’ve ever read, and I mean that in the best possible way. Forget the movie (although the original is fantastic – please forget the horrible remake with Liam Neeson) , the book really raises the hairs on the back of your neck, and takes you so far into Nell’s experiences at Hill House, you begin to wonder if you’re going crazy with her.

4) Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr. I loved Holly Black’s Tithe, too, but Marr’s version of faerie was so richly detailed, and so surprisingly realistic in terms of character motivations and interactions, I was blown away. These are fae the way I always imagined them – sexy, dangerous, impulsive, otherworldly. A gorgeously written start to a great series.

5) The Witching Hour, Ann Rice. Oh, Anne Rice. You got me with this one. The New Orleans setting, the tangled family history, the love story between Rowan and Michael – I unabashedly love this book.

6) Ghost Story, Peter Straub. This is one of those books that’s a fabulous read and also requires, like, a doctorate if you want to actually unravel all the allusions and homages to the genre in it. (Stephen King does a great job in Danse Macabre, actually.) So fabulously atmospheric and scary.

7) Salem’s Lot, Stephen King. It took a minute to pick just one King book, because I’m a huge fan of his, but as a strictly paranormal, fantastically terrifying book, this is the one. Vampires! Really scary ones, too. So delicious.

8) A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray. Not horror, obviously, but so wonderfully paranormal. Gemma’s discovery of the Realms and her place in them – as well as the effect it has on both her and her friends – is mind-blowing. I loved this series so much.

9) White Cat, Holly Black. So incredibly original – curse workers! The whole premise captured my imagination, and Black is such a sharp, honest writer. Cassel’s voice is amazing, too.

10) Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill. Stephen King’s son! Not that he needs the name-check – this book is as horrifying as anything his father ever wrote. An aging rock star gets a “gift” in the mail, but it’s not a gift anyone would want. And it will not go away. The tension in this book is almost unbearable, and the contents of the box are both genius and seriously disturbing. Read this one with the light on.

 

“It seemed so right. Danny was mine, I was his, and that wasn’t going to work if he was dead. So I would make him not dead, not anymore. I didn’t think any further than what it would feel like to kiss him again, to wrap my arms around him and bury my head against his shoulder.
That was my first mistake. It also turned out to be the biggest.”

When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.

Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and somehow, inexplicably, he can sense her secret. Wren finds herself drawn to Gabriel, who is so much more alive than the ghost of the boy she loved. But Wren can’t turn her back on Danny or the choice she made for him—and she realizes she must find a way to make things right, even if it means breaking her own heart.

Amy Garvey’s transcendent teen debut is perfect for fans of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures. Wren’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned

Guest Post with Kendare Blake, Author of Anna Dressed In Blood

In Which I get Serious

(For like five minutes and then I go back to being a dingus)

By

Kendare Blake

“The hard thing isn’t becoming a writer. It’s staying a writer.”

Look at that quote. Read that quote. Repeatedly. I know I did, back when I was hip deep in the “becoming” part. I can’t remember who said it, but I remember that it was a writer I admired, Harlan Ellison, maybe, and that for a time, it floated around a circle of writers that I really looked up to, as they lamented the business that is “Staying a Writer.”

I don’t mind telling you: I called BS. The hard part isn’t “becoming”? I wanted to shout. Really? All this writing and soul-searching, and revising and submitting and being politely or less politely rejected…this isn’t the hard part? Because if that’s true, then what. The. Frick.

I told myself then that I would never forget what it took to “become”, if ever I was lucky enough to see publication. I wouldn’t forget the nail-biting and the self-loathing and the fleeting triumph of finishing a project just to see it dashed against the rocks as not-quite-good-enough-not-what-we’re-looking-for.

And I haven’t. The sheaf of unpublished literary stories on my hard drive remind me. The spreadsheet tracking all the agencies and magazines I submitted to remind me. But here I am. Out of the becoming, and into the staying, and I find…that the staying isn’t easy either. Looking back at one of my old journal entries I told myself that if I had a book published I wouldn’t whine or moan no matter what happened. I’d only be grateful. And now I get to call BS on myself.

That’s not to say I’m not grateful. Of course I am. It’s magical and wonderful and blah blah blah to the moon and back. But there’s struggle and strife and drama of Southern Belle proportions (vespers, I think they call it vespers) in my future, and that’s just the human condition. Because I know now what those writers meant. It’s hard at every turn. At every stage. But it’s also fan-fricking-tastic at every turn and every stage.

If I were to give advice (and I hate to give advice, what the heck do I know) it would be that if you are travelling a similar worn road, SAVOR every triumph. But don’t forget to glance back once in a while, to remember what it took you to get there.

And returning to dingus mode in 5…4…3…

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD BY KENDRA BLAKE

(August 30th 2011)

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Author Bio: Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master's degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn't make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.Official Website

Character This or That Picks: The Revenant by Sonia Gensler

 

Boarding School or Public School?
Boarding schools can be a challenge, what with the wealthy snobs you often encounter, but I would much prefer to board than to attend a day school that requires me to go home at night.

Horseback or carriage?
I never learned how to ride, so it’s a carriage for me. Riding the train is best, however – if one can afford it.

Hair up or down?
In the Oklahoma wind, I’d have to say hair up – with a considerable number of pins to hold it in place!
 
Reading or writing?
Reading! I’ve never been good at expressing myself in writing – never really realized how bad I was until it came time to mark essays.

Gowns or simple dresses?
All I have are simple dresses. It would be marvelous to have a gown that was made just for me.

Small towns or bustling cities?
I’ve never seen a bustling city, but I think it would be grand to visit one. I’m certain I’d find good theater there. I’d love nothing better than to see a Shakespeare play with professional actors and a decent costume budget.

Family or friends?
Friends, please. Especially ones like Olivia Adair. Since Papa died, I do my best to avoid family. That’s not something a proper young lady should say, I know, but I just can’t be myself around my family.

Dancing or singing?
I’m no singer. And technically we’re not allowed to dance at the seminary – not with boys, anyway – but I do love to watch the younger girls dance. They put on secret performances on the third floor, and I’ll certainly never tell on them!

Staying home or going on an adventure?
Adventure, always! At home it’s all drudgery.

The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release: June 14, 2011
Buy the Book: Amazon

About the Book:

When Willie arrives in Indian Territory, she knows only one thing: no one can find out who she really is. To escape a home she doesn't belong in anymore, she assumes the name of a former classmate and accepts a teaching job at the Cherokee Female Seminary.

Nothing prepares her for what she finds there. Her pupils are the daughters of the Cherokee elite—educated and more wealthy than she, and the school is cloaked in mystery. A student drowned in the river last year, and the girls whisper that she was killed by a jealous lover. Willie's room is the very room the dead girl slept in. The students say her spirit haunts it.

Willie doesn't believe in ghosts, but when strange things start happening at the school, she isn't sure anymore. She's also not sure what to make of a boy from the nearby boys' school who has taken an interest in her—his past is cloaked in secrets. Soon, even she has to admit that the revenant may be trying to tell her something. . . Courtesy of Goodreads.com

About the Author:

Sonia Gensler is a former high school teacher turned full-time writer living in Oklahoma with my husband and cat. Her debut novel, THE REVENANT (Knopf 2011), is a ghostly mystery set at a Cherokee girls' school. 

Want to learn more?  Website & Goodreads

Top Ten Ways to Spot a Draki by Sophie Jordan, Author of Firelight and Vanish!

Today I'd like to welcome Sophie Jordan, author of Firelight (quite possibly my favorite book of 2010). The sequel to Firelight, entitled Vanish, releases in just a couple of weeks on September 6th- Hurray! Sophie stopped by today to share with us an amusing guest post on her top ten ways to spot a draki. (For those of you who haven't read the book, a draki is a person with dragon ancestry and certain capabilities)

VANISH (FIRELIGHT #2) BY SOPHIE JORDAN

Sept. 6th 2011

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

 Top Ten Places to spot a Draki by Sophie Jordan

1)      In Jacinda’s pride, of course. Good luck finding it.

2)      In the night sky, if the climate is right.

3)      Um, wherever you find Will Rutledge.

4)      In a hunter’s net.

5)      In the clutches of the enkros.

6)      Snapshots can be found on several UFO sites. You didn’t think that was really a flying saucer, did you?

7)      Well, normally it wouldn’t be Chaparral... but these days, you better go ahead and look there.

8)      Wherever there is an unusual amount of mist/fog.

9)      According to Sophie Jordan’s husband … “In your face!” Yes, he’s forever a teenage boy at heart. ;)

10)   Maybe right next to you….they walk among us, after all.

Guest Post with Shelley Workinger, Author of Solid

Today I'd like to welcome Shelley Workinger, author of the YA paranormal series, Solid. Shelley stopped by today to discuss her favorite type of scenes to write. Take it away Shelley!

 

Shelley Workinger grew up in Maine, graduated from Loyola University New Orleans, currently resides in New Jersey, and considers all of them home.Official Website

My favorite scenes to write are without doubt the conversations – particularly the ones involving Garrett, because he totally cracks me up.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Since she’s writing those scenes, doesn’t that mean she cracks herself up?

And the answer is, “Sure not.” Let me tell you why.

I write in what I know most people see as a very unique way; essentially, I let the characters write the story. I “launch” a scene in my head, then take notes as they run with it. It’s like planning a dream (which I also do); I imagine a setting, then close my eyes to watch as it develops on its own. Unfortunately, also like dreaming, this method works best late at night, so I’m often up until the wee hours scribbling notes in the dark!

The characters of “Solid” just exist so clearly in my imagination that for me to “direct” them would almost be unnatural. They may be fictional, but they are strong, distinct personalities who can really only react one way to the situations I’ve created for them in order to stay consistent and believable. So I may know where the story’s going and how to roll out the plot, but I have to let them talk amongst themselves to pick up their dialogue along the way.

In case I really am sounding as bizarre as I think I might be, let me give you an example:

When know-it-all Miranda asks Garrett if he washed the banana he’s about to eat, he asks (in typical Garrett-fashion) “To get off what? Monkey pee?” and she immediately throws back, “Insecticides, fungicides, nematicides….” I didn’t even know all those words before the scene evolved, but Miranda had to.  Then Clio, who’s quick-witted and sarcastic but lets too many things fly out of her mouth without a filter thinks, “If [Miranda] didn’t lay off the ‘cides,’ she was going to end up a victim of friend-icide. And that was the best-case scenario.” Again, it was the response she had to have; I heard her voice in my head way before I had time to sit down and think, “Hmm, how would Clio react to that?”

So that’s the part of writing that’s funnest* for me; the moments when, if only for a second, I get to feel almost like a reader – like any other member of the audience enjoying the scene and not already thinking two chapters ahead. Every book is an adventure to experience, so why should I have to miss out on my own?

Writers are still readers at heart, after all. 

*Yes, I know “funnest” is not an officially recognized word, but I think it should be and so will continue to use it.

SOLID
BY SHELLEY WORKINGER
(July 9, 2010)


Eighteen years ago, a rogue Army doctor secretly experimented with a chromosomal drug on unknowing pregnant women. When he was killed not long after the children were born, any knowledge and evidence seemed to die with him - except for the living, breathing, human products of his work.

Almost two decades later, the newly self-proclaimed "open-book" military unearths the truth about the experiment, bringing Clio Kaid and the other affected teens to a state-of-the-art, isolated campus where they soon discover that C9x did indeed alter their chromosomes, its mutations presenting as super-human abilities. The military kids, who come from across the nation and all walks of life, come into their own as lighter-than-air 'athletes'; 'indies' as solid as stone walls; teens who can make themselves invisible and others who can blind with their brilliance.

While exploring her own special ability, forging new friendships and embarking on first love, Clio also stumbles onto information indicating that the military may not have been entirely forthcoming with them and that all may not be as it seems...

Top Ten Reasons Your Neighbor Might Be a Siren by Lisa Papdemtriou!

Welcome to today's tour stop on Lisa Papademetriou's blog tour for Siren's Storm! Lisa stopped by to share with us this adorable guest post.  For more tour information, be sure and check out The Teen Book Scene.

Top Ten Reasons Your Neighbor Might Be A Siren

by Lisa Papademetriou

10.   Beautiful singing voice causes neighbors to go insane

9. Uses a wheelchair (due to fin)

8. You swear you’ve seen her face on the bow of a ship

7. Keeps trying to order kelp salad at local diner

6. Grizzled old sailors give her the eye

5. Wears a bikini top made of seashells

4. Gee-Her-Hair-Smells-Like-Seaweed

3. Backyard pool features live fish, sharks

2. Combs hair with a fork, best friend is a seagull

1. Yard riddled with bones of dead sailors

Siren's Storm by Lisa Papademetriou

July 12th 2011

Nothing has been the same for Will ever since what happened last summer. One day, on an ordinary sailing trip with his brother, there is a strange accident. When Will wakes up, he learns his brother has disappeared, presumed drowned. Worst of all, Will can't remember what happened—his family finds him unconscious, with no memory of the accident.

Now Will and his best friend and neighbor, Gretchen, are starting a new summer. Gretchen seems troubled—her sleepwalking habit is getting worse, and she keeps waking up closer and closer to the water. Will is drawn to Asia, the exotic new girl in town. Nobody knows where she's from—all Will knows is that her beauty and her mesmerizing voice have a powerful effect on people.

Then there is another mysterious drowning, and Will and Gretchen begin to wonder: Is Asia just another beautiful, wealthy summer resident? Or is she something entirely more sinister . . . and inhuman?

Lisa Papademetriou has worked in an editorial capacity at Scholastic, HarperCollins, and Disney Press. She has written or adapted over thirty books for young readers, including Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me; The Wizard, the Witch, and Two Girls from Jersey; How to Be a Girly Girl in Just Ten Days, and the New York Times bestselling Disney Fairies novel, Rani in the Mermaid Lagoon.

 

Lisa lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog, playing guitar, dancing around the house to 80's music, and eating at the vegetarian cafe (even though she isn't vegetarian).

Official Website

Guest Post with Shawn Thomas Odyssey, Author of The Wizard of Dark Street!

The Wizard of Dark Street is available to the public for the first time today, July 26^th, 2011!  I can’t tell you how VERY, VERY, VERY…VERY EXCITED I am to finally be able to share the mysterious world of Dark Street and Oona Crate’s extraordinary story with the world.  What better way to celebrate the book launch than to share some of the character’s favorite books?  Have you read any of them?  Have a look.  There’s some really good ones here.  Might be a little hard to find, to be sure.

The Wizard of Dark Street character’s favorite books:

Deacon: The Encyclopedia Arcanna.  (A set of more than one hundred reference books regarding all things magical)

Oona: The Dark Street Who’s Who: 36BC to Present. (This book contains information on nearly every person who has ever lived on Dark Street past and present)

The Wizard: The Gentleman’s guide to Social Gathering and Party Planning. 1877 edition.  (The name of this book pretty much speaks for itself)

Samuligan (the faerie servant):  The Last Faerie Road: an incomplete history of Dark Street, by Arthur Blackstone.

Adler Iree: Any book on magical law. (The older and more ancient the book the better)

Isadora Iree: The Handbook for the Academy of Fine Young Ladies.  (Everything a young lady needs to know about appropriateness, suitability, and social correctness in the year 1877.  Not that Isadora always follows these rules, but they are good to know so that, when the opportunity presents itself, she can make others feel stupid when they show their ignorance.) 

Lamont John-Michael Arlington Fitch III: Prefers to read The New York Times cover to cover.

Inspector White: He’s been meaning to read the official Dark Street Police Department’s Procedure Handbook for quite some time…but hasn’t quite gotten around to it yet.

Constable Trout: Cheep yellow-back romance novels and penny dreadfuls.  (Trout can’t get enough of them.  Reads them constantly…indeed, it has been noted that the man has a serious problem)

Shawn Thomas Odyssey is the author of THE WIZARD OF DARK STREET, a Middle Grade novel of detection and magic. Coming July 26, 2011, from Egmont USA.

The Wizard of Dark Street
by Shawn Thomas Odyssey
(July 26, 2011)

Oona Crate was born to be the Wizard's apprentice, but she has another destiny in mind.

Despite possessing the rare gift of Natural Magic, Oona wants to be a detective. Eager for a case, she is determined to prove that logic can be just as powerful as wizardry. But when someone attacks her uncle--the Wizard of Dark Street--Oona is forced to delve even deeper into the world of magic.

Full of odd characters, evil henchmen, and a street where nothing is normal, The Wizard of Dark Street will have you guessing until the very end.

The Wizard of Dark Street is available in bookstores nationwide and online in both hardback and eBook formats.

Please visit: http://www.thewizardofdarkstreet.com

Be sure and check out The Teen Book Scene for more tour stops!

Welcome to today's stop on The Teen Book Scene's blog tour for Jennifer Jabaley. Jennifer is the author of Lipstick Apology and Crush Control, which recently released on June 9th.  She stopped by to share this fun post on her favorite books at different ages. Take it away Jennifer!

Born in New York and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Jennifer Jabaley is a graduate of James Madison University and Southern College of Optometry. She began writing in 2006 and tries to manage optometry, writing and motherhood. She lives in Blue Ridge, Georgia with her husband and two children.
Official Website.

 

What books would you have recommended at Ages 5, 11, 16 and 20?

At age five I loved HARRY AND THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion and the FROG AND TOAD books by Arnold Lobel.

At age 11 I adored Beverly Cleary books (particularly the Ramona books) and of course Judy Blume. ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT'S ME MARGARET was practically required reading in my circle of friends.

At age 16 I discovered Mary Higgins Clark. One summer I devoured just about every book she wrote. I loved that most of her books took place in New Jersey, my homestate, and often in locations very similar to where I grew up. I loved that she had strong, independent female protagonists that relied on their brains to solve mysteries and murders.

Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

June 9, 2011

Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind - and more importantly, the heart - is something you can really control