Book Review: BLEEDING EARTH by Kaitlin Ward

Photo credit: Goodreads

So I stumbled across Kaitlin Ward's Bleeding Earth at my local library about a week ago—a Sweet Sixteener book I'd wanted to read but hadn't gotten the chance to pick up yet—and you can bet I snatched it right up. There were two things I knew about this book in advance: it was an apocalyptic book that involved a ton of blood (so much blood) and also a f/f novel.

That is to say, totally right up my alley.

I read it quickly and am pleased to report it did not disappoint. But before I tell you all about this gory book of awesome, here is the Goodreads summary:

"Lea was in a cemetery when the earth started bleeding. Within twenty-four hours, the blood made international news. All over the world, blood appeared out of the ground, even through concrete, even in water. Then the earth started growing hair and bones. 

Lea wants to ignore the blood. She wants to spend time with her new girlfriend, Aracely, in public, if only Aracely wasn't so afraid of her father. Lea wants to be a regular teen again, but the blood has made her a prisoner in her own home. Fear for her social life turns into fear for her sanity, and Lea must save herself and Aracely whatever way she can."

Right from the start I'm going to say this book is gross in the best way possible. It's gory, and disgusting, and easily has the least pleasant apocalyptic scenario I've read yet—from the decay to the paranormal-ish all around unpleasantness, this is a seriously nasty end of the world book.

And I loved every page.

This is not a coming out book. Lea knows right from the start that she likes to date girls, and she's already (just) started dating Aracely when the book begins. And it was really great to read a book with queer girls who not only already know they like each other from the start, but are fighting something completely unrelated to their sexuality. Aracely isn't out at the beginning of the book, but Bleeding Earth isn't about Aracely coming out or people's reactions to two girls dating—it's about the world ending in the most disgusting and inexplicable way possible and two girls trying to survive and hold on to each other while the whole world falls apart and rots away.

This is a creepy as hell survival book that messes with your head and makes you question what you think you know. It's gory (as you would expect in a book about the world literally drowning in blood), violent, chock-full of tension and kept me turning the pages and itching to get back to the book when I wasn't reading.

I definitely recommend this one for those who can handle a little (or a lot) of grossness with their scary. It's so good even though I borrowed it from the library, I pre-ordered myself a (gorgeous!) paperback copy even though I won't get it until February.

All in all I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more from Kaitlin Ward!

What have you been reading lately?

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae gives five stars to @Kaitlin_Ward's BLEEDING EARTH. Is this creepy f/f end of the world YA on your TBR? (Click to tweet) 

Like apocalyptic YA horror? Want queer girls vs a broken world? Try Kaitlin Ward's BLEEDING EARTH. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Pitch Your Book

So you've written your book and the time has come to figure out how to pitch it. Whether you need an elevator pitch or you're preparing to query (or both!) today I'm sharing some tips for perfecting your pitches.

RELATED LINKS:

• On Querying (vlog playlist)
• 5 Writer Problems (vlog)
• How to Write a Great Twitter Pitch
• Query & Pitch Tip: DETAILS
• Pitch Tip: Remember Your Stakes
• Pitch Tip: Make Your Stakes Personal

Have you had to pitch your book in person yet?

Twitter-sized bite:

Have you perfected your elevator and query pitches? @Ava_Jae vlogs some tips for pitching your book like a pro. (Click to tweet)

Fixing the First Page Feature #24

Photo credit: University of Central Arkansas on Flickr

I don't know how this has happened, but it's nearly July!

As per usual, I'll start by posting the full first 250 excerpt, after which I'll share my overall thoughts, then my redline critique. I encourage you guys to share your own thoughts and critiques in the comments (because I'm one person with one opinion!), as long as it's polite, thoughtful, and constructive. Any rude or mean comments will be unceremoniously deleted.

Okay. Here we go.


Title: THE GUN IN THE PURSE

Genre: YA Science Fiction

First 250 words: 

"I need coffee. 

The rich smell from the campus coffee stand, across the plaza from my table, drags my mind from my last minute cramming. I set my screen down and lean back in my chair, pulling my coppery hair into a ponytail. The thick strands refuse to cooperate, but finally I wrestle them into a hairband. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back to let the sun warm my face. The golden rays caress my skin, though I know the danger those rays hold.  

Yawning, I pick up the screen and scroll back to the beginning of the document to start again. The heading jumps out at me. Midterm Notes - March 17, 2107 - 11AM. I glance at my wrist to check the time on my phone. 10:37 AM. Not long now. The battery blinks red, and I sigh, detaching the phone from my wristlet. I forgot to charge it after classes yesterday, so now I unfold the phone’s panels and spread them to soak up the sunlight. The small solar panels sparkle, sending pinpricks of light scattering across my arms and face. 

My eyes follow the familiar words as I reread the study guide, mouthing them silently. This midterm is one of the last hoops I have to jump through at Dasset Prep before I graduate and secure a job at the Environmental Impact Agency, where I’m an intern. I stayed up late last night to cram, even though I’ve been studying for weeks, but my stomach still twists as the test approaches. 

Laughter from the table next to mine breaks my concentration, and I look up to see a group of students from my class."

Hmmm interesting. Okay, so at this point I'm not seeing any massive, glaring issues that need to be immediately addressed, but I'm not 100% sure this is quite compelling enough either. It'd be enough to get me reading to the next page, which is good, but I'd also be thinking if this doesn't pick up quickly, I'm probably going to put it down again. Not because this is bad, but because starting right before a big test is somewhat common (I'm reminded of Divergent here) so I'm really looking for something different that's going to grab me and pull me into the story.

It's hard to say just off this whether or not we're starting in the right place—I'm guessing the upcoming test is the inciting incident? And I do see hints at conflict and tension here, which is great and the main reason I'd be willing to keep reading for a couple more pages to see what happens.

Okay! Now for the in-line, nit-picky notes:

"I need coffee. 

The rich smell from the campus coffee stand, across the plaza from my table, drags my mind from my last-minute cramming. I set my screen down and lean back in my chair, pulling wrestling my thick, coppery hair into a ponytail (I'm combining the next sentence with this one to condense a bit). The thick strands refuse to cooperate, but finally I wrestle them into a hairband. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back to let the sun warm my face. The golden rays caress my skin—dangerous, but [insert reason why she's sunbathing anyway]., though I know the danger those rays hold.  I'm suggesting this adjustment to remove the filter phrase of "I know."

Yawning, I pick up the screen and scroll back to the beginning of the document to start again:. The heading jumps out at me. Midterm Notes - March 17, 2107 - 11AM. Clever way to get the date in. I glance at my wrist to check the time on my phone. 10:37 AM. Not long now. Okay, so the main thing I'm missing from your protagonist right now is emotion. How does she feel about her upcoming test? Nervous? Excited? Eager to get it over with? Apathetic? Whatever the answer is, I want to feel something from your protagonist to get a better read on what's going on—but right now it's unclear how your protagonist feels about this test. The battery blinks red, and I sigh, detaching the phone from my wristlet. I forgot to charge it after classes yesterday, so now I unfold the phone’s panels and spread them to soak up the sunlight. The small solar panels sparkle, sending pinpricks of light scattering across my arms and face. Cool! But what does this feel like? 

My eyes gaze follow the familiar words as I reread the study guide, mouthing them silently(nitpicky, but her eyes aren't actually going anywhere). This midterm is one of the last hoops I have to jump through at Dasset Prep before I graduate and secure a job at the Environmental Impact Agency, where I’m an intern. Okay, that's fine, but is that what she wants? Again, I'm not really sure how she feels about any of this. I stayed up late last night to cram, even though I’ve been studying for weeks, but my stomach still twists as the test approaches. Good! This is what I'm talking about when I say I want to see hints of emotion from her—now just add a lot more in so we can read her emotions from the start.

Laughter from the table next to mine breaks my concentration, and I look up to see a glance at the group of students from my class (made this adjustment to remove the filtering of "see")."

Okay, so all in all I think you're almost there, but could use a push a little deeper into the protagonist's POV, which may actually be the key to upping the tension enough to make this a stronger hook. If I saw this in the slush, I would cautiously keep reading, but as I said above, I'd be looking for something to grab me and grab me quickly before I moved on to something else.

I hope that helps! Thanks for sharing your first 250 with us, Jes!

Would you like to be featured in a Fixing the First Page Feature? Keep an eye out for the next critique giveaway in July!

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae talks deepening character POV, filter phrases, and more in the 24th Fixing the First Page critique. (Click to tweet)

What Diverse Fall 2016 Books Are You Excited About?

So last November I did this post where I talked about diverse 2016 books I was excited about. I was initially going to write another of just books in general I was excited about, then realized 8/10 had diverse casts and it wasn't exactly difficult to replace the two that didn't with others that did so here we are. 

More 2016 books I'm psyched for! Because as good as this year has been for books, there's so much more goodness to come!

Photo credit: Goodreads

As I Descended by Robin Talley (September 6) 

YA Contemporary
(f/f)

Goodreads summary: 

"Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them. 

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey. 

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word. 

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily. 

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.
But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Into White by Randi Pink (September 13)
YA Contemporary
(black protagonist)

Goodreads summary:

"Sixteen-year-old Latoya Williams, who is black, attends a mostly white high school in the Bible Belt. In a moment of desperation, she prays for the power to change her race and wakes up white."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Overexposed by Megan Erickson (September 20)

NA Contemporary
(m/m)

Goodreads summary: 

"Levi Grainger needs a break. As a reality show star, he’s had enough of the spotlight and being edited into a walking stereotype. When he returns home after the last season of Trip League, he expects to spend time with his family, only to learn his sister is coming back from her deployment in a flag-draped casket. Devastated, Levi decides the best way to grieve will be to go off grid and hike the Appalachian Trail—a trip he'd planned to do with his sister. 

His solitary existence on the trail is interrupted when he meets Thad, a quiet man with a hard body and intense eyes. Their connection is stronger than anything Levi has ever experienced. But when Levi discovers the truth about what Thad is hiking to escape, their future together looks uncertain, and uncertainty is the last thing Levi needs..."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (September 27)

YA Fantasy
(Disabled protag, m/m couple, and characters of color)

Goodreads summary: 

"Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig (October 4)

YA Thriller
(m/m)

Goodreads summary:

"Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own? 

Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories that don't add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January's boyfriend, he must know something. 

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself. "

Photo credit: Goodreads

When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore (October 4)

YA Magical Realism
(Latina protag and South East Asian trans boy love interest)

"When the Moon Was Ours follows two characters through a story that has multicultural elements and magical realism, but also has central LGBT themes—a transgender boy, the best friend he’s falling in love with, and both of them deciding how they want to define themselves. 

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town.

But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up. "

Photo credit: Goodreads

A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith (October 25) 

YA Fantasy
(Biracial Japanese bisexual protag)

Goodreads summary: 

"A time-travel story that alternates between modern day and 19th century Japan as one girl confronts the darkness lurking in her soul. 

No one knows what to do with Reiko. She is full of hatred. All she can think about is how to best hurt herself and the people closest to her. After a failed suicide attempt, Reiko’s parents send her from their Seattle home to spend the summer with family in Japan to learn to control her emotions. But while visiting Kuramagi, a historic village preserved to reflect the nineteenth-century Edo period, Reiko finds herself slipping back in time into the life of Miyu, a young woman even more bent on revenge than Reiko herself. Reiko loves being Miyu, until she discovers the secret of Kuramagi village, and must face down Miyu’s demons as well as her own."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Timekeeper by Tara Sim (November 1)
YA Fantasy
(m/m)

Goodreads summary:

"Every city in the world is run by a clock tower. If one breaks, time stops. It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old Danny knows well; his father has been trapped in a town east of London for three years. Despite being a clock mechanic prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but time itself, Danny has been unable to free his father.  

Danny’s assigned to a damaged clock tower in the small town of Enfield. The boy he mistakes for his apprentice is odd, but that’s to be expected when he’s the clock spirit who controls Enfield’s time. Although Danny and the spirit are drawn to each other’s loneliness, falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, no matter how cute his smiles are.  

But when someone plants bombs in nearby towers, cities are in danger of becoming trapped in time—and Enfield is one of them.  

Danny must discover who’s stopping time and prevent it from happening to Enfield, or else he’ll lose not only his father, but the boy he loves, forever."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (November 22)

YA Fantasy

(f/f)

"Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden. 

Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine (called Mare), sister of her betrothed. 

When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, each discovers there’s more to the other than she thought. Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. Soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more. 

But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other. "

(no cover yet)

Bad Boy by Elliot Finley Wake (December 6)
NA Contemporary
(trans guy protag and knowing Wake's novels, probably much more rep in the cast)

No current Goodreads summary but I've loved his previous books (written under Leah Raeder: Unteachable, Black Iris and Cam Girl) so I'm psyched.

What Fall 2016 books with diverse representation are you looking forward to?

Twitter-sized bites: 

What diverse Fall 2016 books are you excited about? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)  

Want more books to add to your TBR y/y? Check out 10 Fall 2016 books @Ava_Jae is psyched about. (Click to tweet)

Fixing the First Page Winner #24!

Photo credit: Carolyn Coles on Flickr

Quick Thursday post to announce the winner of the twenty-forth fixing the first page feature giveaway! Ready! Set!

*drumroll*

And the twenty-fourth winner is…

JES ROSE!

Yay! Congratulations, Jes!

Thank you to all you awesome entrants! If you didn't win, as always, there will be another fixing the first page giveaway in July (July!!!), so keep an eye out! :)

Books(dot)Con Recap!

So Sunday and Monday was Books(dot)Con! And overall I think it went really well—the panels were great and packed full of a ton of great information about all aspects of publishing and writing. And because I know not everyone was able to tune in (which is fine, of course!) I thought I'd link all the panels and interviews here all together.

So! For the interested! Here we go:

Blending Genres with Heidi Heilig, Rin Chupeco, Katie Locke, LR Lam, and me:

Let's Talk About Disability with Corinne Duyvis, Katie Locke, and Kayla Whaley:

Comic Books and Web Comics with Mildred Louis, Nilah Magruder, Taneka Stotts, and Wendy Xu:

Gender and Sexuality with Taneka Stotts, Nita Tyndall, LR Lam, and Fox Benwell:

Alternatives to the Traditional Publishing Path with Dahlia Adler, Taneka Stotts, and Mildred Louis:

Exclusive Interview with Bernie Su:

Culture and Faith with Katie Locke, Nita Tyndall, Kaye M, and Rin Chupeco:

What Happens After You Sign With An Agent with Nita Tyndall, Katie Locke, Eric Smith, Corinne Duyvis, and me:

Neurodiversity and Mental Illness with Corinne Duyvis, Katie Locke, and Nita Tyndall:

Research: from Worldbuilding to Historical Accuracy with Katie Locke, LR Lam, Mildred Louis, Wendy Xu, and me:

A Peek Behind the Veil of the Industry with Alison Weiss, Eric Smith, McKelle George, and Whitley Abell:

Exclusive Interview with Elizabeth Wein:

Twitter-sized bite:

Missed @booksdotcon but want to hear from authors, editors, agents, & more? Check out this compilation. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Don't Worry About Idea Stealing

I semi-frequently hear from new writers who are too nervous to get critique partners because they worry about their book ideas being stolen. So here's why I don't think you have to worry about it.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Don't Worry About Other Writers Stealing Your Ideas (blog post version)
• Why You Need Critique Partners (Really) (vlog)
• 5 Places to Find Critique Partners

Did you worry about this before working with critique partners for the first time? (I know I did.)

Twitter-sized bite:

Too worried about idea stealing to enter a pitch contest or work w/ a CP? @Ava_Jae says not to worry about it. #vlog (Click to tweet)