Writing World: So Many Many Things...

Okay. First thing's first. CHILDREN OF THE GODS BOOK 2 IS DONE!! I finished the manuscript a while ago, but I really haven't announced it to the world. I don't know why. I think my brain STILL hasn't registered the fact that I finished another book. Crazy...crazy-awesome.

Secondly, the LA Times Festival of Books (last weekend) was AMAZING! I had so much fun! The ZOVA Books booth was next to the YA Stage, so I got to hear panels with well-known YA authors. Thankfully they drew a crowd, and I sold out both days! I also got to meet some really sweet Oppression fans (so strange to say that). I am still completely shocked every time someone comes up to me and says, "I'm reading your book right now, and I love it!" My first instinct is to ask them, "Really? Are you sure it's mine?" So surreal. I had one guy come up to me and say that his teacher was having his class read my book! That one was hard to believe. I must have asked him about a million times..."Are you sure???"

Here are some pics from the event (not my best faces...lol)

  

Here is a video clip of me at the festival recorded by Scripts & Scribes:

Thirdly...I am really excited to be heading up to Reno, NV this weekend to speak to some students at McQueen High School and Loyalton High School. I always have fun talking to students about my experience getting published and what it takes to write a novel. I hope they find it inspiring! Can't wait :)

Lastly, I'm doing several giveaways to promote Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)! See HERE for details or click on my new "GIVEAWAYS" tab :)

Random Giveaway!!

Hey...want to win 1 of 5 FREE e-book editions of Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)?

Enter below (if you don't see the giveaway widget, click on the title of the post...or follow this link)

The Buzz: Hunger Games Movie Survey Results & BD2 Pics

Hey all! I'm going to try and do a recap of the LA Times Festival of Books on Wed. For now, here are the results for the Hunger Games Survey I posted a while ago. Thanks for taking part!

Did you see the Hunger Games movie?
	Yes 32 94% No 2 6%

What did you rate the movie?
Bad Amazing	1 - Bad 0 0% 2 2 6% 3 4 12% 4 15 44% 5 - Amazing 12 35%

Did you read the Hunger Games books?
	Yes 33 97% No 1 3%

What did you rate the books?
Bad Amazing	1 - Bad 0 0% 2 0 0% 3 0 0% 4 7 21% 5 - Amazing 26 76%

Did you agree with the casting choices for the movie?
	Yes 21 62% Only some of the characters 12 35% No 1 3%

Team Gale or Team Peeta?
	Gale 12 35% Peeta 20 59%

...and here are a couple of cool Breaking Dawn pics I found...

Live.Laugh.Love...Feeling the Love!

Source

One thing I've learned since OPPRESSION was published is that you can't please everyone. No matter how hard you try, even if you write the most brilliant masterpiece of a novel (which I'm not saying I did...), there will always be those who put you down, who don't like your work, etc. BUT what makes it all worth it are those you touch, who love everything about your writing and reach out to tell you just how much...

I wanted to share with you some of the emails I've gotten that have made it all worth it for me :) In moments where I was discouraged or hurt by someone's comment (yes, authors are people too...we do read the reviews you write and the comments you make...) these emails really made me feel the love!

"Hey just wanted to say GREAT book! Loved it.... soooo.... umm.. hurry up and get the next one written already!!! Jeez :)" - Aly

"I just popped over here from Mark Koopman's blog. I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard about your novel, "Oppression" the first time, but I bought a copy and am now almost half way through. LOVE IT! Wonderful characters and story! Love your spin on Greek Mythology." - Scarlett Stokes

"Hi, I know that this series is in the teen category, however as a 51 y/o my wife and I loved your first book and can't wait until the next one is published. Thank you for an original series and great read." - Hub

"I loved your book! It was all of the details and creative aspects that I would want in an absolutely amazing book! I am a HUGE fan of Greek mythology. Sometimes I felt like I was Elyse and that I had known these characters my whole life. The way that you described that the Gods weren't really gods at all, but people that had special powers and they aged differently, made me look at mythology in a whole different way. I give this book 5 stars all the way. Your book, (in my opinion) was better then the Hunger Games series, Percy Jackson series, and the Matched series, combined! In the end your book took my breath away and I want my own William!" - Tera Vinuela

"Ms. Therrien, I am an avid reader and love really most any type of book, but I must say, I loved your first book Oppression. My wife and I (she's 26, I'm 28) always look for up-and-coming authors on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (she has a Kindle, I have a Nook), and sometimes the do-it-yourselfers get it right. This book was so good that if I knew you, I'd have to give you a high-five because it was very entertaining.
I have been an avid reader all my life, and typically read an average of a book per week. This one is very easily in my Top 10 for the past few years. Good job with this one, and I look forward to reading Book Two." - Ty Davis

"Dear Mrs. Jessica Therrien,

Jeez! Your writing is amazing! I would like to introduce myself. I am LeeArron Klosterman. I am a senior in high school and going off to college next year. I bought a little tablet for Christmas that I am going to take to college. I found out that I could use the 'kindle' app on it. I usually do not like reading, BUT, I got your book on there and my mom was SO impressed that I was reading! I really could not keep my mind off of the storyline. Books on young adults (well, at least appearing to be [haha]) with superhuman qualities or abilities are my favorites! Anyways, I wanted to say thank you for sharing your amazing gift of writing stories with me. I am also here to say that I SOOOO much want to hear back from you and also to know about when the next book comes out. I want to get a hold of it as soon as it does. Thanks-a-million again!

Have a splendid day! and Hope to hear back!

 

P.S. Also, I wanted to mention that my absolute favorite part of the first book had to be the way you designed Ellie. I could really relate to her. I identified with her on everything (usually the way she felt) every step of the way throughout the book. That made it even more awesome to read!" - LeeArron Klosterman

How have others made you feel the love lately?

Writing World: LA Times Festival of Books...here I come!!

Where will I be this Saturday and Sunday (April 21-22)??? Where else?...the LA Times Festival of Books, of course!! You have no idea how excited I am to be going. It's ridiculous. I'm making checklists, counting the hours...I even ordered a MASSIVE poster of Oppression (Children of the Gods #1) to display as part of our ZOVA Books booth (it's actually embarrassingly big...so big I may not even be able to use it...). I went a bit overboard, okay? What can I say? I'm SO excited. Honestly, I've never been before, but it sounds amazing. I can't believe I'm taking part in such a big-name event. I guess I'm still a bit of an amateur at this. I think I'm more excited to see the other authors and books there than I am to sell my own book. Just the idea of so many many many books and authors gathering together to bask in all the words and pages and writer-ness...ooooh my.

Dates & Location

April 21-22, 2012
Sat 10 AM – 6 PM
Sun 10 AM – 5 PM
The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held at:
University of Southern California
Click here for map.
To locate USC on Yahoo! Maps or similar mapping software, you may use the intersection of Exposition Blvd and S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Tickets & Admission

General attendance is free!
For information on attending, see our Attendee FAQ.

Parking

Parking at the USC campus will be $10.
Please go to the Getting There page for a detailed map.
Make sure to follow the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Twitter and Facebook for live traffic and parking updates!

I hope to see you there!

What are you doing this weekend?

The Buzz: Hunger Games Movie Survey

After seeing the Hunger Games movie it came to my attention that not everyone loved it as much as I did. In fact, I heard some pretty crazy reviews of the movie. Out of curiosity, I wanted to post this quick little survey to see what you all thought. I'll post the results in a few weeks so you can see the outcome.

Also, now that the Hunger Games is making its way through the movie world, what do you think is the next Big Thing in YA? For me it's a toss up between Divergent and Blood Red Road (as I'm sure you all know by now).

What YA Buzz are you excited about lately?

GIVEAWAY-Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)

I know I've been off the map lately. There are two reasons I'm staying quiet. The first...something exciting is happening in book world, and I'm trying really really hard not to spill the beans before it's official. GAH! I've already said too much...don't go crazy and think they're making a movie...it's not that (yet!). Second, I've been editing and writing like a maniac to get Book 2 ready for you guys, which leaves little time for social networking and blogging *sad face* If I had a super power, these days I would want Ms. Stanzic's ability to stop time...then I could do EVERYTHING! Wouldn't that be nice...

Okay, so on with why you are here. THE GIVEAWAY!! I've felt sort of guilty lately for not giving Oppression the proper attention. It came out just over a month ago, and I feel like I've already abandoned it for Book 2...so strange how I feel guilty about things like that...Anyway, good luck with the giveaway!

GIVEAWAY INFO

Notebook, book marks, signed copy of Oppression, poster, the mixed CD William gives Elyse of their songs, copies of my original manuscript pages before the content edits (secret scenes, plot differences, plenty of mistakes and edit notes).

To win all of the prizes in the photo above, post a review of Oppression on Barnesandnoble.com or Amazon.com. Email me a copy of the review at therrien.jessica@gmail.com. Each review will count as one entry (if you post a review on both Amazon and B&N that will count as two entries). All reviews must be posted by April 30, 2012 to qualify for the giveaway.

If you have already posted a review, those count as well! Just email me the review to be entered to win.

If you would like to help me spread the word about this giveaway, post it on your blog and send the link to therrien.jessica@gmail.com. I'll send everyone who posts it on their blog an autographed book mark for being so awesomesauce :)

*This giveaway is international*

Thanks blogger friends!!! 

The Buzz: Breaking Dawn 2 Teaser Trailer

Hey guys, gotta make this a quick one :) I'm in writing world...writing, editing, not blinking, turning into a computer zombie...

Enjoy!

What YA book or movie buzz has you excited these days?