My very own FORBIDDEN Cover Reveal!!!

After waiting so long to see this gorgeous, epic Young Adult novel I've been working on forever actually become a real book - I'm thrilled to share the STUNNING cover from Harpercollins! 

I'm practically dying of shock (as well as giddy with glee) that this book is finally going to hit bookshelves in a few months. FORBIDDEN has been in the making for YEARS – don’t ask how many—I don’t want anyone fainting out there! 

 

I’ve been wondering/speculating/daydreaming about what Harpercollins would do for the cover since it’s been crazy difficult for my editor and I to come up with jacket synopsis copy. The story is about the roots of belly dance in the ancient world of women, goddess temples, tribal warfare, betrothals, murder, blackmail . . . but the fantastic team at Harper came up with a gorgeous cover that hints at the danger and romance with a splash of an exotic feel. The model is beautiful and I adore all the red and gold!

Thank you Harpercollins, my editor Karen, the photographers, and the entire art and editorial team!

SYNOPSIS:
In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.

Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.

 

With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.

Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together. 

A long-time friend of mine, Justin Cook, who got his Grad degree in Film at Columbia in NYC helped me create this cover *just* for the Cover Reveal today. A full book trailer will come this Fall. So this gives you a hint of the flavor, setting, and mystery of the book. Enjoy.



Young Adult Books Central is featuring the Cover Reveal today as well as Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

Tomorrow I'll be on YA Series Insiders and on Sunday, I'll be at Mundie Moms, Page Turners, The Story Siren, and Adventures in YA Publishing with *exclusive* content and a *unique* Huge Giveaway on every single blog. Yep, I'm giving away a ton of goodies. Signed books, ARCs, veils, jewelry, and Book Club Cards. 

Young Adult Books Central:
Signed copies of GRAVE MERCY and DARK TRIUMPH
And jewelry/veil, ARC, and swag.

Cuddlebuggery Book Blog:
Signed copies of Alyson Noel's FATED, ECHO, MYSTIC, and HORIZON, the SOUL SEEKERS quartet
And jewelry/veil, ARC, and swag.

Please tell me what you think of the trailer and cover in the comments! And be sure to head to the links to enter the Giveaways! 

SEVEN blogs, SEVEN *Big Winners*, and 70 Book Club winners over the next 2-3 weeks! 

TADA!!! I love the *movement* and the tension and breathlessness as well as the vibrant reds and gold. The full-wrap jacket is going to knock your socks off. It's almost finished and it took my breath away!

Happy Sigh,
Kimberley

We have Our January Debut Year 2014 Celebration WINNER!!!

All of you lovelies wrote such nice things in the comments about FORBIDDEN these past two weeks and added the book to Goodreads and signed up for my newsletter. You're awesome and I was so touched! 
(If you didn't get a chance to sign up, here is the link again: Kimberley's Amazing Newsletter Coming Soon! :-)

Our winner for the January Celebration of my YA Debut Year 2014 will receive a beautiful veil, a pair of Middle Eastern style earrings and a Young Adult book of your choice! It does *not* have to be one of these books, although it can be! These were just examples . . . tell me what book you've been dying to read/own and you'll get it!

And the Winner is . . . 

ROSALYN EVES!!!

Please contact me at kglittle@msn.com and I'll mail your prizes!

Don't forget to choose the YA book of *your* choice! 

 ***More News***

Stay Tuned for THE COVER REVEAL OF FORBIDDEN on February 13th on YA Books Central and a few other Very Cool Blogs between February 14-16!!! 

Yes, you heard that right, FORBIDDEN has cover art! It's stunning and dramatic and perfect. I just saw the full wrap today and ohmygoodness knock-me-over-with-a-feather it's dramatic inside and out! Harpercollins has done some very unique things for it.

And 6-8 blogs will each host unique and marvelous Giveaways during February and into March so you'll have plenty of time to enter!!! 

Warmly,
Kimberley

COVER REVEAL - ELEVATED by Elana Johnson!!!

***COVER REVEAL, COVER REVEAL, COVER REVEAL***

Brand New Young Adult Novel 

by Elana Johnson! 

Coming February 18, 2014!!!

Isn't this cover absolutely adorable? I love it! The premise is very fun, too. (I've read it already, too, and love it!)

About ELEVATED: The last person seventeen-year-old Eleanor Livingston wants to see on the elevator—let alone get stuck with—is her ex-boyfriend Travis, the guy she's been avoiding for five months. Plagued with the belief that when she speaks the truth, bad things happen, Elly hasn’t told Trav anything. Not why she broke up with him and cut off all contact. Not what happened the day her father returned from his deployment to Afghanistan. And certainly not that she misses him and still thinks about him everyday. But with nowhere to hide and Travis so close it hurts, Elly’s worried she won’t be able to contain her secrets for long. She’s terrified of finally revealing the truth, because she can’t bear to watch a tragedy befall the boy she still loves.


Buy Links:
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/elevated
iTunes: Coming soon!
On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18947183-elevated
Amazon: Coming Soon!

Praise for ELEVATED:

"ELEVATED will take you on an emotionally gripping journey through the highs and lows of first love." 
~Carolee Dean, author of Take Me There and Forget Me Not

"Poignant, raw, and intense, ELEVATED is a novel that will grip your heart and linger in your mind long after you turn the last page."

~Stasia Ward Kehoe, author of Audition and The Sound of Letting Go

Here is Adorable Elana! 

Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist.

School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.

Social Media Links: Website/blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaJ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/possessionthebook 
Tumblr: http://elanajohnson.tumblr.com/ 
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elanajohnson
League of Extraordinary Writers: http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/ WriteOnCon: http://writeoncon.com/ 
Elana on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4044383.Elana_Johnson

People can enter to win $15 Paypal cash by helping to spread the word about ELEVATED! Enter Here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have Fun Reading!
Kimberley

Cinderskella Cover Reveal - a fun new MG novel with a great Giveaway!

I'm pleased to be part of a massive book cover reveal for Cinderskella by Amie and Bethany Borst, a very adorable mother-daughter writing team and the first book in a funny series, Scarily Ever Laughter. 

TaDA!!! Isn't it intriguing? That cover definitely makes you want to know what this book is about . . . see below! There is also an easy-peasy Rafflecopter for a $25 Amazon gift card PLUS you are automatically entered into a drawing for a KINDLE FIRE!!! Whooeeee!!

Cindy is just a normal, average girl. At least until she wakes up one night to find out she is dead. Well, she isn't technically dead—she just doesn't have any hair, nose, or . . . skin. Yep, she is a skeleton—all bones and no body.

Human by day and skeleton by night, Cindy is definitely cursed. It doesn't help that her mother recently died, only to be replaced by an evil stepmother who makes her do gross things like eat liver and clean rooms with only a toothbrush. It really doesn't help that her father is scared of her strange nightly body appearance and that there's no way she can attend the school dance “dressed” like a skeleton.

What ensues is a hysterical tale of a young girl who, while coping with the loss of her mother, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, love, and forgiveness, all the while learning to deal with an evil step-mother and her "skeletal" abnormalities.

Cinderskella is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cinderskella-bethanie-borst-amie-borst/1114940702?ean=9781939967244

 

Amie and Bethanie Borst are a mother-daughter writing team. Amie believes in unicorns, uses glitter whenever the opportunity arises, accessorizes in pink and eats too much chocolate. Bethanie is a spunky 13-year-old middle-schooler who loves archery, long bike rides and studying edible plant-life. Cinderskella is their first book together and is part of the Scarily Ever Laughter series.

You can find them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AmieAndBethanieBorst)
Twitter (www.twitter.com/AmieBorst)
Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/AmieBorst)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors (www.fromthemixedupfiles.com)
 and blog (www.amieborst.com)

GIVEAWAY –
Amie Borst is celebrating her book release and cover reveal with a monthly giveaway in The Great Cinderskella Giveaway! If you’d like to win a $25 Amazon gift card, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You’ll be automatically entered into the grand prize drawing for a Kindle Fire in October!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy!
xo,
Kimberley

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!

This week's book is DESTINY REWRITTEN by Kathryn Fitzmaurice.

First off, I adore the cover! Beautiful artwork, kid and parent friendly, with a touch of mysteriousness. Of course, I also love the rising tall bookshelves AND the cat! (I mean, look at that feline's expression; makes me smile!)

The cover art is by the very talented Erwin Madrid and here is his blog where you can see other covers he's created for Middle-Grade books: http://erwinmadrid.blogspot.com/ (Erwin Madrid also did the cover art for Kathryn's first book.)

Four years ago I read THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY by Kathryn Fitzmaurice and I really enjoyed it, but I think I love DESTINY REWRITTEN even more. The MG voice is spot-on in this new novel and I loved the funny conversations our MC Emily Elizabeth Davis (named for Emily Dickinson, the famous poet) and her best friend Wavey have throughout the book. They made me laugh because we *all* have those kind of rambling, crazy conversations and it was such a kid thing to do.

I love Emily Dickinson's poetry and my son gave me the Complete Works of E.D a few years ago for Christmas so I could relate to her quest when her personal, note-written copy of the book ends up missing.

I also loved that the book is set in Berkeley California with San Francisco so close by. The Bay Area is close to my heart. I was born in S.F. and grew up in the East Bay Area from the time I was four-years-old on through college until I got married.

I loved how Emily, our MC, writes letters to the romance writer, Danielle Steel, about happy endings and how she herself longs for happy endings in her own life. Those letters she writes to Danielle Steel are hilarious. It was fun to see Emily begin to write her own work, as well as join a romance writer critique group at the local library - where she is the only child in attendance.

I loved Emily's unconventional mother, a *free spirit* sort of Mom who believes in Fate and Destiny and cautions Emily to let her life find HER. Although even Mom realizes by the end of the story that sometimes you can take your own life in your hands and make something happen - even as Destiny lurks around the corner .  . .

If you haven't read this wonderful new MG novel, run to your local bookstore or library and grab a copy.

Happy Middle-Grade Monday!

Off to read my next book . . .

xo,
~Kimberley

Here are the rest of the MMGM Linky Peeps!

- Kimberley Griffiths Little is spreading the love for DESTINY, REWRITTEN. Click HERE to see what she thought. 

- Mark Baker is featuring KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, by um... me. (meep!) Click HERE to see his review.

- Rebecca Behrens is cheering for KEEPING SAFE THE STARS. Click HERE to see why.

- Medeia Sharif is spotlighting SUPER SCHNOZ AND THE GATES OF SMELL. Click HERE to why. 

- Mrs. Heise is back with a super-cool feature. She's part of the SIDEKICKED blog tour, and has an author-editor interview--with a GIVEAWAY! Click HERE for all the fun. 

- Natalie Lorenzi is cheering for HOW DO YOU BURP IN SPACE? AND OTHER TIPS EVERY SPACE TOURIST WANTS TO KNOW. Click HERE to see what she thought. 

- Susan Olson has chills for THE BLIZZARD DISASTER. Click HERE to see her review.  

- Andrea Mack is rooting for THE BOY AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Click HERE to see why.  

- 11-year-old Xander is gushing about EMBLAZON. Click HERE to see what he thought. 

- Flash, the Feline Extraordinaire, (and Professional Mews to Cindy Strandvold) recommends ZIP. Click HERE to see what that's all about.  

- Dorine White's 11-year-old daughter is reviewing KATIE KAZOO #1. Click HERE to see what she thought.

- Joanne Fritz always has an MMGM for you. Click HERE to see what she's talking about this week. 

- The Mundie Moms are always part of the MMGM fun (YAY!). Click HERE to see their newest recommendations. And if you aren't also following their Mundie Kids site, get thee over THERE and check out all the awesome!    

- The lovely Shannon O'Donnell always has an MMGM ready for you! Click HERE to see what she's featuring this week!

- Karen Yingling also always has some awesome MMGM recommendations for you. Click HERE to which ones she picked this time!

- Pam Torres always has an MMGM up on her blog. Click HERE to see what she's spotlighting this week.

- Deb Marshall is an MMGM regular. Click HERE to see what she's featuring this week.  

   

If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count--but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you're featuring and a link to your blog at SWMessenger (at) hotmail (dot) com. (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so I see it).

NOTE: I used to not have a cut-off time for adding links to the post, but with how insane my schedule is right now, if you don't email me by Sunday evening (usually around 11pm PST is when I put the links together) I can't guarantee I'll have a chance to add you. BUT, you are welcome to add your link in the comments on this post so people can find you!

*A note from Shannon: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen posts ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me ahead of time.