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Yeah, so....welcome to the blog of Judith Tewes, young adult contemporary fiction author. Here be edgy stories with a side of snark.

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Deliver Me: Cover Reveal


DELIVER ME by Kate Jarvik Birch, a fellow Bloomsbury Spark author, launches April 15th and I'm thrilled to participate with the big cover reveal!



Blurb:

One People. One Union. One Future. 
Wynne’s entire life is dictated by the Union: the clothes she wears, the books she reads, even the genes she inherited. And like every other girl in the Union, Wynne dreams of being chosen as a Carrier on her 16th birthday—one of the elite selected to carry the future generation within her womb. Wynne and her best friend Odessa are certain they will both make the cut, but when Odessa is chosen and whisked off to a life of privilege, Wynne is left behind to work as an assistant, delivering babies for the Union.
As Odessa slips deeper and deeper into the role of Carrier, Wynne begins to see the Union for what it really is: a society that criminalizes the notion of love, and forbids words like mother and family.
For the first time in her life, Wynne is faced with a choice: submit to the will of the Union, or find a way to escape and save Odessa before she is lost forever.


About the Author


Kate Jarvik Birch is a visual artist and writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and three kids. She wrote her first novel in fourth grade. The main character was suspiciously similar to herself and the love interest bore quite a strong resemblance to the boy she had a crush on. As an adult, her essays and short stories have been published in Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing, Saint Ann's Review, Scissors and Spackle and Indiana Review. Her first play, (a man enters), co-written with Elaine Jarvik, was produced in 2011 by Salt Lake Acting Co.
Kate’s debut novel, DELIVER ME, comes out April 15th from Bloomsbury Spark. PERFECTED will be released July 1st from Entangled Teen.


Giveaway

Enter the giveaway below to win an electronic copy of DELIVER ME from Bloomsbury Spark as well as a $20 Amazon gift card!

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Heartbreakers Blog Tour: Day 6


Swoon-worthy kisses, sizzling romances, and epic tales of heartbreak. Welcome to the Heartbreakers Blog Tour. 


Here you'll be introduced to some of the brightest and best young adult / new adult authors around, as well as snag sneak peeks at upcoming titles guaranteed to get your emotions running high and your heart racing. 


And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY at the end of this post for chances to win a FREE Kindle, loaded with titles from our participating authors. Who can resist a HEARTBREAKER?

DAY SIX: D.G. DRIVER, LAURIE J. EDWARDS and JERI SMITH-READY

D.G. Driver is the author of Cry of the Sea:


D. G. Driver grew up in Southern California only 30 minutes from the beach.  As a girl, she used to dream that magic would change her overnight into a beautiful mermaid.  Alas, that never happened, but her love of the ocean never diminished.  Even though she is landlocked in Tennessee now, she still only needs one whiff of sunscreen to bring her imagination alive.  Thanks to the support of her husband and a sweet drawing of a mermaid done by her daughter that was taped on the wall above her desk to keep her motivated to finish, Cry of the Sea is now her first published Young Adult novel.  A dragon picture hangs there now, so we’ll see what happens…

Cry of the Sea

Juniper Sawfeather is choosing which college to attend after graduation from West Olympia High School next year.  She wants to go to San Diego to be far away from her environmental activist parents.  They expect her to think the way they do, but having to be constantly fighting causes makes it difficult to be an average 17 year old high school student.  Why do her parents have to be so "out there?"

Everything changes when she and her father rush to the beach after a reported oil spill.  As they document the damage, June discovers three humans washed up on the beach, struggling to breathe through the oil coating their skin.  At first she thinks they must be surfers, but as she gets closer, she realizes these aren't human at all.

They're mermaids!

Now begins a complex story of intrigue, conspiracy and manipulation as June, her parents, a marine biologist and his handsome young intern, her best friend, the popular clique at school and the oil company fight over the fate of the mermaids.


1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?


In the summer between high school and college, three of my best friends abandoned me.  That was devastating.  I wrote my first novel while in college, and they are featured in that story with different names and as not very nice people.  (I will never publish that book, but it exists).  A boyfriend that jilted me is featured twice in songs I wrote and performed a lot back when I was singing professionally.  Another former boyfriend of mine showed up as the jerk at the beginning of a fantasy novel I wrote years ago and never finished.  Several bullies I knew in school are featured as bullies in a middle grade novel I published back in 2004.  Yeah, I recycle my heartaches. 

2. Top 5 films about heartbreak? 


(I like old standards, so you might not know these.  I sing these to myself when I’m really low)

Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry (Linda Rondstat’s standard album “Lush Life”)
But Not for Me (Judy Garland)
What’s New? (Linda Rondstat’s “Lush Life)
Little Girl Blue (Doris Day “Jumbo”)
Once in a While (Liza Minelli “New York, New York”)

Pop Songs (for something slightly more current)
Don’t Speak (No Doubt)
I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston’s version)
All By Myself (Celine Dion)

(these ones all make me cry every time)
Jerry Maguire
Hope Floats
Sense and Sensibility
Ghost
P.S. I Love You
The Notebook made me cry so much I had to turn it off before I could finish it and come back to it later. 


Thanks so much for joining us on the tour! Want more? Of course you do! Check out her website / Twitter / Facebook

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Laurie J. Edwards (writing as Erin Johnson) is the author of Grace and the Guiltless: Wanted, Book 1
:
"After her family is slaughtered by outlaws, sixteen-year-old Grace Milton goes on a vendetta to capture the gang who did it. But once she meets a rugged range rider, she’s torn between revenge and love."

About Laurie:




Changing her name almost as often as she changes her clothes, Laurie J. Edwards writes under a variety of pseudonyms. Her 2014 releases include INSIDE A CYBERSTALKER’S MIND and four books in the WANTED series, set in the Wild West, written as Erin Johnson.

In addition to more than 2100 articles in print, some of her other titles include the 5-vol. UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Pirates through the Ages, and Rihanna (People in the News) as well as stories in two anthologies, Summer Lovin’ and A Community of Writers. A former librarian, Laurie J. Edwards is also a freelance editor, illustrator, and voracious reader who’s been known to read thirty books a week.

1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?    


Many, many times. I’ve kept journals for years, and I pour all my heartbreak and triumphs onto those pages. In some places the words are so blurred from tears, they’re illegible. When I’m writing and need to go to an emotional place in my character’s heart, I can always recall one of my journal experiences to take me there.

I do find, though, that the older I get, the more philosophical I become. Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent so much time writing that I’ve become my own therapist, but my highs and lows are no longer as extreme as they once were. I’ve learned there’s always an unexpected joy behind even the deepest sorrow, so I use my journal pages to discover those hidden blessings.


2. Top 5 songs about heartbreak? Top 5 films?      


I’m rather unusual that I rarely watch TV or go to movies, and I prefer absolute silence rather than music. I have too much going on in my imagination all the time, so outside stimuli is distracting. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and still love books. I prefer books to movies because I can create the quirky characters and lush, vivid settings in my own mind. My creations usually are far more elaborate than those of a director or producer, so movies often disappoint.


Thanks so much for joining us on the tour! Want more Laurie? Of course you do! Check out her website / Twitter / Facebook.

___



Jeri Smith-Ready is the author of This Side of Salvation:

Award-winning author Jeri Smith-Ready lives in Maryland with her husband and two cats. Her plans to save the earth were ruined when she realized she was more of a “problem maker” than a problem solver. To stay out of trouble, she keeps her Drama Drive strictly fictional. Her friends and family appreciate that.
When not writing, Jeri she can usually be found—well, thinking about writing, or on Twitter. Like her characters, she loves music, movies, and staying up very, very late. 
THIS SIDE OF SALVATION
Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure:  The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.
Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.
But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...



1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?    


Judith, thank you a MILLION for coordinating the Heartbreakers blog tour! I’m so happy to be a part of it.

Writing has definitely helped me deal with a wounded heart. This Side of Salvation, in fact, became much more of a “grief book” after I lost my best friend (who happened to be a dog, but still…). David’s older brother, John, died in Afghanistan a few years before the book opens, but we also get glimpses into David’s past, not only of John’s death but the aftermath and how it affected his family.

I was able to take the excruciating pain of my own grief and give it to David. At the worst moments of mourning, I could calm myself down by imagining how David would feel and how he would express it in words. It was almost dissociative, the way I’d just shift into another person’s head, but at times, it was the only way to keep breathing. I don’t know how non-artists deal with grief and other heartache without imploding. Where do they put all that pain?


2. Top 5 songs about heartbreak? Top 5 films?      


Songs

1. My Father’s House by Bruce Springsteen
2. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle
3. What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie
4. Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine
5. My Backwards Walk by Frightened Rabbit

Interesting. Out of all these, only that last one is about the breakup of a relationship.

Films

1. I know it’s not a film, but the Season One finale of ROME absolutely killed me. It’s the only creative work (book, movie, TV) that left me lying awake crying at night.
2. Up
3. Sophie’s Choice
4. Million-Dollar Baby
5. The Green Mile

OK, after spending an hour listening to my saddest songs and watching YouTube clips of the most heartbreaking movies, I am a mess. THANKS A LOT! J


Thanks so much for joining us on the tour! Want more Jeri? Of course you do! Check out her website / Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook.

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