37 In Stores This Week (with Interviews & Giveaways)

This week has a handful of releases, but make no mistake- there are some awesome books in store. If you're a fan of Catherine Fisher's INCARCERON, you'll be delighted to know that the first book in her new series debuts this week. The latest installments in Lisi Harrison's ALPHAS series and Ellen Schreiber's VAMPIRE KISSES series release, as well. Not to mention, there are some other great reads in the mix. Read on to see if something tickles your reading fancy and be sure to scroll all the way down to enter to win some of these books!

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

• From Goodreads: Mercy has lost herself. She can’t count how many times she’s “woken up” in a new body, and assumed a new life, only to move on again and again. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by him. Mercy’s heart would know him anywhere. But her memory refuses to cooperate. But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen year old reeling from the loss of his twin sister who was kidnapped two years ago. Everyone else has given up hope, but Ryan believes his sister is still alive. Using a power she doesn’t fully comprehend, Mercy realizes that Ryan is right. His sister is alive and together they can find her. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose; she can help. So she doesn’t understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the dark mystery of his sister’s disappearance, danger looms just one step behind. Will Mercy be able to harness her true self and extraordinary power in time?

How long did you work on this book?

From start to finish? Probably a couple of years of actual thinking and writing time, but one of the publishers that was looking at Mercy kind of thought it over for a year, so it’s seemed way, way longer than that …

How was your journey to publication? Long, short, how many rejections?

It’s one of those weird things, but you can’t seem to get published unless you’ve been published before, or have a really pushy agent.

For a long time, I tried to combine writing fiction with a commerciallaw practice and found my creative brain and legal brain just pulling in different directions. So I finally took time off work to try and make a serious go of writing, and was lucky enough to have a four book series of humorous detective stories for middle readers picked up by an Australian publisher. And that was the start of it.

Rejections, I’ve had a few, to paraphrase a certain legendary singer. But you have to pick yourself up off the floor and just keep going.

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

Be yourself. Write as differently as you can. And read as widely as you can, without fear or favour. Don’t just read the fancy, prizewinning things or refuse ever to stray out of your comfort zone. You do your best reading, and best writing, if you’re open minded. I read somewhere that a writer is really only a reader with a pen in their hand, itching to respond, and I think that’s so true.

Be prepared for criticism. Be prepared to yield a little and never, ever sweat the small stuff. Your editor and publisher are not the enemy. They really are there to help you.

What has surprised you most about becoming a published author?

One of the great miracles of our age is that writers can interact directly with their readership. It’s like some of those contestants on American Idol who refuse to believe that they are absolutely tone deaf – a writer needs to get an outside perspective on their writing or they will never improve. But some readers tend to forget that writers are also just people, first and foremost. While all writers should and must expect criticism – because the act of reading is such a personal thing – the worst thing a reader can do is savage a book because it doesn’t accord exactly with their world view / politics / religious beliefs / prejudices.

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

• From Goodreads: Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn't been in a classroom since the second grade. He's always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It's said that the two boys speak with one voice--and that voice is Sam's. Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell's home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it's too good to last.

Top of the Feud Chain (Alphas) by Lisi Harrison

• From Goodreads: Alpha Academy: Where the betas get booted.
  
  Skye Hamilton
  For Skye, breaking boys' hearts is easier than one-two-plie. But if she hurts emo-freak Sydney, Shira will send her packing. Skye's only choice? Make him dump her first! But how can she convince robo-Romeo she's not his Juliet?
  
  Charlie Deery
  Charlie's brilliant brain designed almost everything on Alpha Island, but her broken heart could never get over Darwin Brazille. Now she has a chance to get him back. But to say hello to true love, she may have to say buh-bye to her friendship with Allie A...
  
  Allie A. Abbot
  After being exposed as an Allie J. imposter, Allie A. is as worthless as a five time markdown on the clearance shoe rack. But the real stain on her suede bootie? She still hasn't found her talent. And with girls leaving faster than you can say "Beta", will Allie A. be the next to go?
  
  If at first you don't succeed, you're not an Alpha.

The Dark City #1 (Relic Master) by Catherine Fisher

• From Amazon: Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old Order are hunted by the governing Watch yet revered by the people, and the great energy that connects all seems to also be destroying all. The only hope for the world lies in Galen, a man of the old Order and a Keeper of relics, and his sixteen-year-old apprentice, Raffi. They know of a secret relic with great power that has been hidden for centuries. As they search for it, they will be tested beyond their limits. For there are monsters-some human, some not-that also want the relic's power and will stop at nothing to get it.

Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber

• From Goodreads: The morbidly monotonous Dullsville has finally become the most exciting place on earth now that Raven is madly in love with her hot vampire boyfriend Alexander, and a crew of vampires has taken residence in Dullsville's old mill. Raven discovers Jagger's plan to open a new club, The Crypt, right here in Dullsville. But is it her dream come true, or her worst nightmare? Raven and Alexander have to figure out what the nefarious vampire has in store for Dullsville's teen and vampire population. Can Raven convince Jagger to listen to her plans to make the Crypt the morbidly magnificent dance club it could be? Will it be safe for mortals and vampires alike? And as Sebastian and Luna's relationship heats up, Raven wonders about her own amorous fate: Will Alexander ever turn her? Does he crave her and does he want to spend eternity together? And what does she really want?

Giveaway

If you'd like to get your hands on a copy of MERCY, I'LL BE THERE, or TOP OF THE FEUD CHAIN, simply leave a comment on this post and fill out the form below. The contest is open to US residents and we'll announce our winners on Thursday!

Happy reading,
The Ladies of ACP