Chills & Thrills Teen Book Tour

Today's stop on the Chills & Thrills book tour was at Katy Budget Books with four talented and funny authors.  I had the pleasure of listening to Lara Chapman (Flawless), Jordan Dane (in the arms of stone angles), Tracy Deebs (Tempest Rising) and Sophie Jordan (Firelight) discuss what their books are about, how they each approach the writing & planing process (which varies from a very detailed outline with different colors for each character to having a synopsis and going with the flow and everything in between).  They also offered tips about getting published, finding an agent and how long that process can take.

Lara Chapman, Jordan Dane, Tracy Deebs, Sophie Jordan

While I haven't read the books yet (I did only get them a few hours ago), I cannot wait to get started on them. Here is brief idea of each book, though I suggest you click on each author and visit their site for more information.

  Flawless by Lara Chapman is about Sarah who has a flaw and thinks that will prevent her from winning the guy she likes, so she agrees to help her best friend win him over.  It's about true friends and believing in yourself.
UPDATE: The Facebook fan page for Flawless is now up and running!! Stop by and LIKE

In the arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane Is about a girl who accused her best friend of being involved in a murder and now a few years later, returns to find things still not right.  This time, despite advice against it, she wants to set things right, no matter the cost.

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs  The best way I can describe this book is by using the author's description.  "It's a dark mermaid story"  What else do you need to be intrigued?  Well, that was enough for me anyway.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan is about Draki which are evolved dragons and can shift into human form. It is the first in a trilogy and deals with good, evil and of course a love triangle.  This book is actually the first book on the YA book club I just started with a fellow teacher, so I hope to have a review up in a couple weeks.

Through a drawing held by Katy Budget Books, I also had the chance to visit with all the authors after the signing.  I found it very interesting that three of the four authors have backgrounds as teachers (one is a college professor, one still teachers and the other has taken time off) and the fourth author actually has a background in accounting ( I could tell you which was which, but I think it would be more fun to see if you can figure it out).  I found it refreshing how down to earth these authors are and how willing they are to answer questions about writing, author visits and even suggestions for discussion topics for book clubs.

Sophie Jordan, Jordan Dane, Me, Lara Chapman, Tracy Deebs