A Pre-Christmas Author Interview with Chantel Acevedo

Christmas is around the corner and I can already feel the chill and imagine the presents under the Christmas tree. Here in the Philippines we celebrate Christmas with a month long preparation decorating our house, attending Simbang Gabi and doing Christmas Caroling. It is also a red letter day for families and friends to bond together, so to make this first pre- Christmas post of Teen Readers’ Diary special we’ve invited the author of “Song of the Red Cloak” for a pre-Christmas author interview. Let us all welcome Chantel Acevedo!

About the Author: Chantel Acevedo's first novel, Love and Ghost Letters, won the Latino International Book  Historical Fiction and was a finalist for the Connecticut Book of the year. Having started her career as a high school English teacher, she holds an MFA from the University of Miami, and is currently an Associate Professor at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Song of the Red Cloak is her first novel for young adults.

Tell us about your book ‘Song of the Red Cloak’. What should we expect from it?

Galen is a 16 year old helot, or slave, in Ancient Sparta.  He's always longed to be free, and to wear the red cloak that is allowed only to Spartan citizens. When he hears talk of rebellion, Galen is tempted to join. But there's a catch. His best friend, Nikolas, is a Spartan prince. To join the rebellion would mean betraying his friend.  There's another catch--two girls, Korinna, a mysterious sibyl, and the beautiful but dangerous Zoi--have their own plans for Galen.

You can expect romance, adventure, a seriously scary monster, and a story about friendship in an ancient, yet really familiar world.

2.       What did inspire you to write your book?

I've always been interested in mythology and Ancient Greece. This story of two best friends from very different stations in life merged with what I'd learned about Spartan culture in my imagination.  Galen sort of came to me, fully formed.  

3.       Are you planning to write another YA Lit?

I'm working on the sequel to this book, SONG OF GLASS AND DUST. I'm sorry to say that SONG OF THE RED CLOAK ends on a cliffhanger!

4.       What are you doing when you’re not writing?

I teach Creative Writing at Auburn University, and edit a literary journal, THE SOUTHERN HUMANITIES REVIEW.  I also co-direct the Auburn Writers Conference.  That's the work end of things!  I have a beautiful five year old daughter, and another on the way, and a great husband--all of whom keep me busy.  

5.       Being an author is really an exciting work to do but can you imagine yourself doing other jobs?

Well, I taught high school for nearly a decade, and miss it a great deal. I've always wished I could start a school, or open a bookshop.  When I was in college, I toyed with the idea of becoming an anthropologist!  I guess I never had trouble imagining myself doing lots of different things, but truly, writing is where I'm most at home.

6.       Can you describe yourself in three words? Why did you choose these words?

Creative. Optimistic. Flexible.  I think these three qualities are related.  To be creative, you have to believe in your ability to invent, and believe in your own voice. At the same time, you have to be willing to bend, to take criticism, adjust, and get better.  And I don't mean creative solely in terms of writing.  People are creative in a million different ways!

7.       What is your favorite band? Why did you pick that band and how do they inspire you on your writing career?

The Beatles.  Hands down.  I learned so much about writing from listening to their music.  So many of their songs are stories, or are playing with language and sound in amazing ways.  I actually wrote a blog post about their influence on my writing!  Here's the link: http://yucababy.blogspot.com/2011/04/let-it-be.html

8.       Do you still believe in Santa Claus? Rudolph the red nose reindeer?

Of course I believe in Santa!  Santa Claus represents the spirit of giving, and there's nothing I like better than giving someone the perfect gift, whether it's a material thing or a helping hand.  As for Rudolph, well, why not?  He's certainly the reindeer with the most personality!

9.       What are the three things you wanted to receive this Christmas?

The truth is, I'm feeling very blessed this year, and don't need anything but what I'm already so thankful for--my friends and family, and their continued good health.  However, I'm human after all, and would LOVE a pair of brown boots I saw at the store the other day...

10   What is your most unforgettable Christmas experience?

Being a little kid, and waking up to all the toys Santa brought on December 25th. Nothing tops that. Well, except being a mom and watching my daughter wake up on Christmas morning. It's the sweetest thing in the world.

1   What does Christmas means to you?

Family, family, family! I live far from my extended family, and every Christmas we find a way to travel to them. I get to hang out with all my cousins, aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents.  There is nothing like it when we all get together.  We're a big, fat Cuban family and I love it!

12  Do you have any message to your fans/readers and to people who are aspiring to be someone like you?

To those who want to write, I'd say you need two things--lots of good books to read, and the will to sit in a chair and actually write!  Time and good books. Time and good books.  That's the recipe for making a writer.  As for fans, I'm so grateful for them.  So very appreciative.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  Or as Galen might say, "S'agapo!"

    Song of the Red Cloak is now available on

Amazon ││The Book Depository ││ Barnes & Noble

New Blogger on the Block

Hi guys! We'd like to welcome a new addition to The Teen Readers' team!

Patrick is just a fifteen year old Junior, so his bio will be short. Patrick is an extreme procrastinator. He is an academic achiever who seldom studies. He really loves to eat, and has a soft spot for chocolates. He loves to listen to Taylor Swift and 1D, and mind you, he's a hardcore fan of Taylor Swift. He was enchanted by books when he first read the Nancy Drew series when he was just on fifth grade. Up until now, he just read over 60 books because he's always busy hanging out with his friends, or just tweeting about books. Now, he sits by the window and busies himself on reading YA novel to make up for the lost time. His favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, Carolyn Keene, Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Cassandra Clare, and Suzanne Collins.

Links:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/loveko08

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/PattMarvin

Tumblr- http://epicsecrets.tumblr.com/

Welcome to the blog Patrick!!

Review: My Beginning by Melissa Kline

My Beginning by Melissa Kline

Paperback: 208 pages

Release date: July 1st, 2011

Publisher: Lucky Space, LLC

Source: Author

Amazon ││The Book Depository ││ Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary: My Beginning is told through the eyes of Ivory, a 16-year-old girl who has lived her entire life within the walls of an institution. The institution is one of many supposedly set up to protect those within from a worldwide plague. She and all of the other surviving children live a strict, mundane life full of tasks and responsibilities--forbidden to go outside, congregate or even look at the opposite sex. Despite the uncompromising atmosphere, Ivory manages to pique the interest of the only boy who did not grow up in the institution, creating a love affair neither of them expected. Multiple secret meetings take a turn for the worse when they are caught and severely punished, but through unexpected circumstances they find themselves on the outside. There is a lot more to the world than they could have ever imagined when they learn of a war and lifelike machines that threaten humankind. Ivory faces many unexpected challenges, and, ultimately, it is up to her to save Aidan and the world she has grown to love. (YA Fiction: science fiction, for ages 15 and up)

"My Beginning offers up familiar subject matter yet refreshingly showcases it from a seldom seen perspective. By setting the angst and torture of a teenage coming of age story against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic plague-ravaged society the reader gets to experience a world they've become accustomed to through the astonished eyes of Ivory, the story's protagonist. When you take Ivory's strong yet vulnerable character, throw in a shadowy corporatist boogey-man and his army of 'the machines' you end up with Cinderella meets Blade Runner. Kline's descriptive and lush writing style, reminiscent of Richard Matheson and early Stephen King paints a visually rich world with vibrant characters that keeps you turning pages till there's no more left to turn." - Sean Bishop, Dreamworks feature Animation

Children are sealed in an institution after a devastating plague. Ivory, dreams of the outside world and will risk everything for it. When she found her love interest, Aidan, they fought together to leave behind the institution and find the real truth about their world. 

My Beginning is a story full of twists and revelation. I never thought that a book with only 201 pages will leave me pine for another one. Ivory was a swayable, serene and self-effacing person. She dreams of the outside world inside the cold, hard walls of the institution and just kept it as it is, because she knows that no one will get out in the life of being locked in the institutions. But when Aidan, a boy who did not grow up on the same institution, comes to their institution a love affair begins. The two of them decided to get out from the institution after their affair was found out. Their escape is quick and uncomplicated; it was smooth all the way until they faced the real world. I love how Aidan and Ivory keep their meetings secret from the Mother Nurse. After the two of them come across other people who survived in the plague, they found asylum in a little community and soon found friends. Living on their new life was not that easy, as they discover the truth of what happened after the plague. I’ve read this book just a couple of hours and don’t want to leave it anymore. Its twist was shocking, because I’ve been carried away by the adventures of Aidan and Ivory I never thought that that “twist” would happen. The second characters were endearing too-Hydra, Rowen, Akela and the others. 

All in all it was an easy and fast-paced story; I love how readers could easily get the main notion of the story without having any difficulties. I just hoped that the love story of Aidan and Ivory would be more detailed. With the dystopian being a mainstream, Kline never gets me bore with her book. Love, understanding, struggles and genuineness are the things you will bump into the story. I’m looking forward for the next book I’ll definitely be one of the first readers if there is a sequel.;) 

Review and Giveaway (CLOSED): Flat-Out Love by Jessica Parker

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Paperback: 400 pages

Release date: April 11th, 2011

Publisher: Createspace

Source: Author

Amazon ││The Book Depository ││ Smashwords

Goodreads Summary: Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance. 

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.


When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.


And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.


To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer. 

This book deserves a whopping 5 stars. It has everything I want in a contemporary book and I am so glad I had the chance to read it. After discovering so many great indie books, Flat-Out Love especially caught my attention with its stunning cover and intriguing premise. I almost begged my mom to send it off to me in Baguio when the book arrived and picked it up as soon as I could. Well, I enjoyed and loved it so much it exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t put it down and when I had to, it was all I think about and I was so itchy to get back reading. I finished this two weeks ago and I admit that I had a hard time composing my thoughts, for the same reason that I still haven’t written a real review of On the Jellicoe Road. It has completely changed my view about self-published books. And I’m also starting to like YA stories with older characters. 

For one, Flat-Out Love was exactly what I needed the time I was reading it; light, fun, witty, moving, and very relaxing. It was a warmly compelling story that brought out the geek in me and made me forget about my real-life problems. Brace yourselves for laugh out loud moments that could shift into a serious and emotional one. It is not the usual kind of story that is serious, but it sure has a mystery I was very anxious to unfold. Largely part of the story deals with family issues and dysfunction mixed with romance, and Jessica Park’s absolute brilliance made it work. And speaking of romance, the one in this book is astounding. It was slowly built and pretty much involved the use of Facebook and email. The chats and statuses were absolutely fun to read. It would be so cool and exciting to at least have Julia, Matt, Finn and Celeste as a Facebook friend. 

Speaking of those four, I loved every single character in this book. They were so well thought out I couldn’t help but feel like they’re real people. They all have their peculiarity and quirks, which had me wanting them to become an actual living and breathing people. 

For me, this book is almost without a flaw. It’s one of those rare stories that I highly recommend everyone to read and enjoy. So I’m urging you to read this book and prepare to be flat-out inlove with it. 

Thank you so much to Jessica Park for providing me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review. :)) 

Completely smitten!!

Because I loved it so much (and I’m sure you will too) I’m giving away an electronic copy of Flat-Out Love! Just leave a comment telling me your favorite Contemp book with your GFC name and email address. You can have +2 extra entries by sharing about the giveaway on Twitter/Facebook. :) Open internationally and ends two weeks from now.

The winner of an ecopy of Flat-Out Love is:

Melannie!!


Congrats! I will email you shortly and you'll have 72 hours to reply.

Clockwork Prince Trailer!!

If you haven't seen it, here it is; the official book trailer of the much anticipated Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare!

I love it and It's narrated by Ed Westwick <3!! I'm happy with the choice of actors, maybe except for Jem since he's supposed to be half-asian. Will is sooo handsome and the actor's pretty good. This made me even more excited than before. 7 days to go!


What do you think about the trailer?