Best of 2012 (Books, Movies, and Music)

Books

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Music

Tegan and Sara – Closer

Matt & Kim – Let’s Go

The Lumineers -Ho Hey / Stubborn Love

Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait

Awolnation- Sail

Calvin Harris / Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing

Florence and the Machine – No Light, No Light

Frank Ocean – Thinking About You

Alt-J – Fitzpleasure

Ellie Goulding - Lights (Bassnectar remix)

Rhianna – Diamonds in the Sky

Muse – Madness

Childish Gambino – Heartbeat

Philip Phillips – Home

Usher – Climax

Trey Songz – Heart Attack

Royal Teeth – Wild

Movies

Silver Linings Playbook

Prometheus

Spiderman

Les Miserables

Looper

Nano, Running, and Living Life

November 1st marked the start of National Novel Writing Month! The task:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2011, we had 256,618 participants and 36,843 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Source: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about

Sounds daunting, no? I have quite a few close friends who have joined in on the challenge. We have formed a writing group that meets officially every two weeks at a bangin coffee shop (though a few of us meet up unofficially when we feel the writing bug bite). For many of my friends, this is their first time attempting a novel, no less attempting Nano.

Thinking about on my own writing expirences…I have some advice for all my nano-ers out there…and get ready…cause I am going to metaphor it up.

1) Don’t over do it. The idea of writing every single day for thirty days is just insane. I ran my first 10k last weekend…and did I run the entire thing? Heck no. I walked when I needed to. Did it take away from the joy I felt when I crossed the finish line in my home-made dino hoodie? Heck no. You have to pace yourself. Otherwise, you will burn yourself out, start to hate writing, and produce complete crap. I write like I run. One day on and one day off.

2)There will be days you will fall. And maybe you won’t make your goal…but you went out there and tried…and next year, you’ll get that much closer. If this is what you love, never give up.

3) It’s the end of the year—live with no consequences. The best writing comes from life lived. Don’t lock yourself away this month…get out there and say YES. Don’t let insecurities and socially constructed morality hold you back. LIVE, LIVE, LIVE. You want something, go for it. You can worry about the consequences in 2013. Say yes to that persistent bad boy you know you shouldn’t go on a date with….get in your car and just drive and see where it takes you. Laugh. Live. Love. Don’t let the past or doubts or what others think hold you back. The BEST writers write what they know…and how can you learn anything if you shut out the world?

You have joined the author world…and if you let it, it will take you on an interesting journey.

Book Signing and Talk (Malaprop’s Bookstore)

I am thrilled to announce that I will be taking part in a book talk and signing with the ever talented Melissa West and Tara Fuller.

WHEN: 11/03/2012 7:00 pm

WHERE: 55 Haywood Street • Asheville, North Carolina 28801 1-800-441-9829 or 828-254-6734

I will be signing copies of Chosen Ones and giving away some neato swag. I hope to see you there!! Click on the picture below for more infomation.

Book Covers and Bugs: NATURALS

If there is one thing I love it’s fate. Destiny. Bad luck written off as some cosmic joke. When Chosen Ones entered the world last June, I couldn’t wait to go around to my local B&N to see it sitting on the shelf, crazily stalk amazon to see its ranking, and check and recheck twitter a thousand times.

It was the release day for my first novel…HELLO HUGE LIFE MOMENT.

Needless to say, I had plans.

But plans always have a way of biting you in the ass. Literally in my case. I was bit by a spider right on the bum. It got infected. Many antibiotics were taken. Side effects were nasty. Pain was no fun. Ten days later, I break out in hives only to find out I am allergic to the meds…only to have to start taking new ones.

Not the book release week I had dreamed about. That’s not to say there wasn’t any fun to be had. My friends and family threw me an awesome book release party, and I will never forget the people who were there to share in that day with me.

I was pumped all last weekend for the world to finally get to see the cover for the Naturals. I saw it last May and really loved it. Sunday rolls around and I go to sit down on a chair to watch my nephew swim in his baby pool..and BAM..stung right in the bum by TWO wasps. Turns out allergic. More meds. More doctors visits.

Kinda funny, right?

New rule…any big book day..I will not leave the safety of my apartment. I will sit by my computer and be forever in awe of the friends, family, and bloggers who helped spread the love. Your support means the world to me!! I wish you a bug free Indian Summer!!

So…in case you missed it…the cover for NATURALS

Tess is finally safe from the reach of the Council, now that she is living in the Middlelands with the rebel Isolationists. With James having returned to Templeton, she easily falls back into her friendship with Henry, though her newfound knowledge of Robert’s chosen one status still stings. Even surrounded by people, Tess has never felt more alone. So she’s thrilled when James returns to the settlement, demanding to see Tess — until she finds out that it’s because her sister, Louisa, has been recruited into Tess’s old position at Templeton, and that the dangerously sadistic chosen one George has taken an interest in her.

NATURALS is the second book in The Lost Souls trilogy, and follows the dystopian hit CHOSEN ONES.

PREORDER: AMAZON

Naturals Cover Reveal (Sequel to Chosen Ones)

It’s hard to believe it’s time to reveal the cover for my second book. It’s even harder to believe I actually finished my second book….much to the dismay of my super talented editor, I took quite a bit of time on it.

But this Monday will be the official reveal date for the cover of the Chosen Ones sequel complete with synopsis…ohhhhh…ahhhhhh.

Want to help introduce Naturals to the world? Click on the link below to find out how:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE5aemVKalQ1cG1rMVNlTjFpQ2RPZFE6MQ

Debut Novel Contest – Where in the World is The Chosen Ones?

In about a week my debut novel hits the shelves. Everyone has been asking me how this feels and I can only answer: surreal. Besides anxiety, it hasn’t quite set in yet. I’ve been chasing after this dream for so long that it seems impossible that I’ve finally reached it. But come June 12th, I can add published author to my list of accomplishments.

Before 30 no less.

I want to celebrate this success with all of you, so I’ve decided to run a new contest here on the blog. For those of you who won prizes from the last contest, I just received the ARCS, so I will send those out once I get back from NYC.

Speaking of NYC…this Wednesday I will be participating in my first book signing EVER…and where might you ask? BEA!!! That’s right, I’m heading to the largest book expo on this side of the Atlantic.

So how does this involve you? Starting Tuesday and ending Saturday, June 16th, I will be posting pictures of my novel, The Chosen Ones, out in the wild on my twitter @tiffanytruitt. Your job is to keep track of the various locations it visits. On June 16th, I will post the final picture and an e-mail account where you can send me your list. If you have all of the locations correct your name will be entered into a drawing…the winner of this drawing will have a character named after them in the sequel to The Chosen Ones…The Naturals.

So make sure you follow me on twitter @tiffanytruitt. Contest starts on Tuesday…Get Ready

YAY 4 YA: Winners

I had a great time last week taking part in my first blog tour ever. Thanks to all of the awesome blogs who hosted me for allowing me to introduce The Chosen Ones to the world. Also, thanks to all of you who commented and shared your love of YA lit in the comments section. You guys rock. And now for the winners…

Winners of the signed Mortal Instruments poster and e-book of The Chosen Ones:

@StephLikesBooks @Mont4_A. and rhapsodyinbooks

Winners of the signed Mortal Instruments poster AND signed arc and poster for The Chosen Ones:

@MTGReviews and @ravenamo

Please DM me on Twitter or send your addys to tiftruitt@gmail.com to receive your prizes.

YAY 4 YA Day 5: 19th Cent Influences

Today is day 5 of YAY 4 YA, and I am blogging over at The Readiacs about The Chosen Ones 19^th century influences. If you stop by, you’ll be able to read an excerpt from the novel itself, which hits stores on June 12^th.

And don’t forget, today’s another day you can enter to win a slew of prizes:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s Question: What is your favorite classic novel?

Tomorrow will be your last chance to enter the contest. Stop by the blog to catch a recap of the week’s events and enter your name again into the drawing!!

YAY 4 YA Day 4: If You Like….You Might Like The Chosen Ones

Sorry for the late post, but one of my great friends just got engaged and we celebrated last night with a baseball game. Shame on me I know. Today, I have the great pleasure of spending day 4 of YAY 4 YA at the incredible Mundie Moms. I had the pleasure of working with them in conjunction with YALITCHAT, and they are made of awesome sauce.

Today’s blog topic? If You Like…You Might Like The Chosen Ones. I explore other YA series that share similar themes and conflicts as The Chosen Ones.

Now…without any more of a wait…today’s question. And, of course, you do remember how to win super cool prizes, right? If not, here is a reminder:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s Question: What is your favorite YA series and why?

And now…another excerpt from The Chosen Ones

The crowd was vibrating with excitement. They were like rabid dogs waiting to sink their teeth into something, waiting to spread their infection. I demanded my eyes open and I saw George and James both on their feet, George’s hands wrapped around James’s neck. Each boy’s face was now blood-red, sweat covering their brows.

Wasn’t someone going to stop this? It was too much; it had gone too far. Some of the girls watched with dread, but none dared speak up. Much to my horror, a few of them looked like they were enjoying it. Because they were fascinated by the way the boys’ bodies moved, or because they were happy to watch our oppressors tear each other to shreds? Of course they didn’t know James was mine and I was his.

It was then I realized that I was walking closer, my body leading me right to the center of the circle.

“Stop!” I screamed.

James’s head snapped in my direction at that moment. That was all it took—one simple distraction. George grabbed onto James’s arm and twisted it, and my ears were filled with a sickening snap. James fell to the floor in pain; I could hear him moaning. George backed away, his hands held up in surrender. “I give in,” he yelled to the crowd.

It was my fault. I had distracted him, had set him up. It was all happening too quickly now. My ears were buzzing. Before I could move to help James, he pulled himself to his feet with a grunt. Something passed before his eyes that I had only seen once before—on the videos of the first chosen one killing the prisoners of war. Any sense of humanity that existed in him had slipped away.

James pulled his good arm back and let it fly. Even the other chosen ones gasped at the strength and determination he exhibited. He kept hitting and hitting and hitting. George crumpled to the floor, and still James didn’t stop.

The James I knew had been replaced with the war machine the council had intended him to be.

And the blood was everywhere. All I could see was how much the substance had tainted my life. Would violence always find me? Of course it would.

If the boy I loved more than anyone else could become a monster, what hope did I have?

 

YAY 4 YA Day 3: Chosen Ones Playlist

Woo hoo!! Day 3 of YAY 4 YA is here. Today it’s all about music at my blog tour stop at the super  Hypable . I heart music. It was a great inspiration for my novel, and I’ve already signed up for two music festivals this summer. Double Yay.

But I know what you’re really here for…what you’ve been waiting for…..your chance to win some super cool prizes. In case you have forgotten, here is a brief recap on what you can win and how you can win it:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s question: If you could pick a song to represent your favorite YA book, what would it be?