CINDER Blog Tour Recap

Did you happen to miss any of the 18 stops on the Cinder Blog Tour? That's right: 18 stops! Well you're in luck! Below are all the direct links to the blog tour stops! Read through them and find out some cool stuff about Marissa, Cinder, and more! And don't forget to become a fan of the Lunar Chronicles series on Facebook!

#1: Intergalactic Academy
In which Marissa Meyer discusses How the Awesomeness that Is Firefly Inspired The Lunar Chronicles

#2: Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing
The History of the Lunars

#3: The Book Rat
Building a Cyborg: How Cinder Changed Throughout Revisions

#4: Reading Vacation
Marissa Meyer's CINDER Inspiration photos

#5: Working for the Mandroid
A Deleted Scene from the First Draft of CINDER

#6: The Apocalypsies
A video of Marissa Meyer and her friends making Shrimp Wontons and disussing other important matters from the book, such as considering Prince Kai’s favorite foods.

#7: My Bookish Ways
An interview with Marissa Meyer

#8: Bookalicio.us
Marissa Meyer discusses her road to publication: from writing to getting and agent to getting a publisher!

#9: Mermaid Vision Books
An interview with Prince Kai!

#10: The Fable Faerie
An interview with Marissa Meyer

#11: Manga Maniac Cafe
Another interview with Marissa Meyer

#12: A Backwards Story
An in-depth interview with Rich Deas, the designer of the cover for CINDER

#13: Laura's Review Bookshelf
Marissa Meyer discusses the timesless allure of the Cinderella's Ball

#14: Bibliophilic Monologues
Marissa Meyer provides the CINDER music playlist

#15: The Book Cellar
An interview with Marissa Meyer

#16: Almost Grown-Up
An interview with Marissa Meyer's sidekick: her husband!

#17: Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe
A video of what sort of research Marissa Meyer did for CINDER

#18: Novel Novice
Marissa Meyer shares her query letter

Congrats to our award winners!

We tend to think all of our books are winners and if we could sticker them all we would. But in some special cases, our books get shiny gold and silver medals given by people OTHER THAN US. Today, the ALA announced the 2012 Youth Media Awards, and our books showed up for the occasion! Below is a list of the books, authors, illustrators, and their accolades. Enjoy!

 John Newbery Medal:  Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

John Newbery Honor:  Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Randolph Caldecott Honor: Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Underground by Shane Evans

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin

Pura Belpre Honor: Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engel

Carl at the Dog Show!

If you live in the Seattle area, come meet Alexandra Day and check out her latest Carl book, Carl at the Dog Show! Alexandra and Carl will both be at The Secret Garden Bookshop this Saturday, January 21st, at 12:00PM.

And don't forget to visit Carl at his very own website!

A Wrinkle in Time: 50 Years, 50 Days, 50 Blogs Celebration

We are pleased to formally announce the 50 Years, 50 Days, 50 Blogs Celebration in honor of the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle In Time! The tour begins Monday, January 16.  Be sure to stop by all 50 blogs to check out their unique editorial content! And don't forget to be a fan of A Wrinkle in Time on Facebook!

Week 1: Revisiting A Wrinkle In Time

January 16 -20

Biblioklept

The Compulsive Reader

Sci Fi Chick

There's A Book

Mundie Moms

Forever Young Adult

I Swim For Oceans

The Discriminating Fangirl

The Story Siren

Steph Su Reads

Week 2: Sharing A Wrinkle In Time

January 23 - 27

Pragmatic Mom

Stiletto Storytime

The O.W.L.

Hi Miss Julie

Green Bean Teen Queen

5 Minutes For Books

A Year of Reading

Lost in the Library

Geek Mom

One Librarian’s Book Reviews

Week 3: Characters in A Wrinkle In Time

January 30 - February 3

Anna Reads

Bewitched Bookworms

Regular Rumination

Things Mean A Lot

Novel Novice

The Book Smugglers

Charlotte’s Library

Coffee and Cliffhangers

S. Krishna’s Books

Lisa the Nerd

Week 4: Expressions of A Wrinkle In Time

February 6 - February 10

Word For Teens

Fictional Food

New Cover

Textbook

Presenting Lenore

Modly Chic

The J. Sorese Visual Companion

Read. Breathe. Relax.

Book Aunt

Meg Bentley Illustration

Week 5: Reading A Wrinkle In Time for the First Time

February 13 - 17

Geek Girl’s Book Blog

The Cozy Reader

I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read

Jenn's Bookshelves

Booking Mama

Page Turners

I Read Banned Books

YA Bibliophile

Alison’s Bookmarks

Galleysmith

Anti-Fairytale Proposal by Jay Clark

Debut author Jay Clark has big news to share... and its not about his book, which is on sale January 31st!

This past holiday season, I experienced the pressure that comes with finding the perfect fairytale way to propose to my long-suffering girlfriend, Caroline.  Dude.  I almost blew it.

Of course, it didn’t help that I purchased the ring at eleventh-hour o’clock.  Online.  You might be a redneck procrastinator if the FedEx guy rolls into your driveway on a Saturday.  Guilty!  Where do I sign, sir, and how many viruses are on this electronic pen?  

Guarding against the possibility of soul-crippling rejection, I told a mere handful of people about my intentions. With visions of Nora Roberts novels waltzing in their heads, my mom and sister asked how I planned to pop the question, to which I explained, “I was thinking I’d write down the top-100 reasons I want to marry the crap out of her and scatter them around the house.”  

“Like a scavenger hunt?” my sister said unenthusiastically. 

Mom’s eyes had glazed over, but she came back to life in time to suggest an alternative.  “What about something at the airport?”

In hindsight, we gave this ambitious idea more thought than it deserved.  Because pulling it off required a) me to be social and recruit a perfect stranger to hold up a sign saying “This way, Caroline!” and b) assuming my girl wasn’t totally creeped out, she’d need to follow the arrow to a nearby piece of carpet, where I’d be waiting on bended knee, surrounded by a gaggle of travelers who could give a flying plane about our love-story-in-progress.

Then my sister cracked a joke about me coming through the baggage carousel with a rose between my teeth or something, and we changed the subject.

So when the BIG DAY finally don-don-donned, I did what any ridiculous person would do – I winged it like there was no tomorrow.  I picked up the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, struggled to lift her suitcase into my trunk (“Is there a body in here?”), then laid a coffee-infused smooch on her.  Trying to talk like a normal person, I said, “Groundhog [my sister’s husband] forgot Amy’s stocking.  We have to stop by their place.”

Every now and again, the most terribly laid plans of mice and man-boys work out amazingly.  Caroline didn’t suspect a thing, and as we entered the house, I felt uncharacteristically calm.  Rather than pick up where I left off with the lifelong paranoia, I took my newfound inner-peace as a decent sign, took Caroline’s hand, and led her down into the basement (where I’d placed the ring an hour earlier).  I figured she’d inspect the stocking herself.  When she didn’t, I reached in and pulled that bank-breaking puppy out, thrusting it forward with all my might.

“Caroline, will you marry me?”

Oh, she just laughed and laughed, then: “Seriously?  No, you’re joking.  Jaaaaay!  That’s Jason’s gift to Amy, right?”

I shook my head.  After a few long seconds, reality struck.  “Yes!” she said.  Then she got embarrassed and fell into my arms, hiding her face in my shirt.  It was very Caroline.  It was very us.  It was entirely perfect. 

I may not know how to propose with the best of ’em, but I sure know how to pick ’em.