Brodi Ashton: Special Edition Podcast

We're so pleased to share another of the interviews we did at the SCWBI in Los Angeles over the summer-- this time we're featuring the lovely Brodi Ashton!

Brodi's debut novel, Everneath, dazzled readers when it hit bookshelves in January of this year. Get your e-readers ready for a companion e-novella, Neverfall, available on December 26, and look for the second book in the series, Everbound, in bookstores everywhere in January 2013.

Brodi is a pure delight. We had so much fun chatting with her about the true-life inspiration behind the series, "team" factions in the Everneath fandom (Team Jack or Team Cole?), and a few hints about what readers can expect from Everbound. Enjoy!



Want to download this podcast? Click here for an mp3 or find us on iTunes!

Find out more about Brodi Ashton at her blog, and visit her publisher, HarperTeen, too.

And don't forget - you have until Thursday to tell us why you should be a Princess or what your favorite Karen Cushman book is! If you let us know, you're entered to win a copy of Jessica Day George's Princess of the Silver Woods & a signed copy of Catherine Called Birdy.

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his awesome editing skills. Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.)

Karen Cushman: November Podcast

Over the summer, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Newbery Medal winning author, Karen Cushman, when she was in Los Angeles for the SCBWI conference.

We chatted with Karen about her writing, what it was like to win the Newbery Medal (and Honor!), and all about her latest book, Will Sparrow's Road. In addition to being an incredible author, Karen is simply a lovely person, and we were honored (and more than a little awed) to speak with her. 

In this episode, we also share our book picks of the month: Michelle chose Princess of the Silver Woods, by Jessica Day George, and Allison chose The Fire Chronicle, by John Stephens.

Want to download this podcast? Click here for an mp3 or find us on iTunes!

Now that you've enjoyed the interview, we have an awesome giveaway for you! Comment on this post by Thursday, December 13, either tell us your favorite Karen Cushman book, and why you love it OR why you should be made a "Princess for the Day". We'll send one lucky winner a prize pack that includes a paperback copy of Catherine, Called Birdy, signed by Karen Cushman, and a hardcover of Princess of the Silver Woods, by Jessica Day George. (Many thanks to Bloomsbury for providing the copy of Princess of the Silver Woods.) Contest open to US residents only. Please include your email with your blog comment or Twitter account, so we can notify the winner. Good luck!

EDIT: Entries are now closed. Thanks to Random.org for selecting "Reader Roberts" as our winner!

Be sure to visit Karen Cushman's Web site to keep up with her latest news, and drop by her publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula and Joshua Bertrand for helping make this interview sound so great! Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.)

Michelle Hodkin: Special Edition Podcast

If you were entranced by Michelle Hodkin's debut novel The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, we can bet you raced to bookstores as soon as its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, hit the shelves last month. It's a New York Times Bestseller! We are so excited to bring you this interview with Michelle, in which she discusses all sorts of fascinating topics, including the inspiration behind the Mara Dyer series and a pretty creepy story (so keep the lights on while you listen!). 

Want to download this podcast? Click here for a mp3 or find us on iTunes!

Learn more about Michelle Hodkin at her Web site, and be sure to visit her publisher, Simon and Schuster.

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his awesome sound editing skills. Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.)

Julie Kagawa: October Podcast

This month, we had the pleasure of interviewing Julie Kagawa, author of The Iron Fey series, published by Harlequin Teen!

For this podcast, we thought it would be fun to take questions from Julie's fans, and you guys thought of some truly awesome things to ask her. We talked about her favorite Shakespeare plays, her vampire series, The Immortal Rules (even though she promised herself she wouldn't ever write a vampire book!), and how she developed all the fascinating creatures in The Iron Fey series.

Plus, we discuss our book picks up the month: Defiance by C.J. Redwine and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.



Want to download this podcast? Click here for the mp3 or find us on iTunes.

Listeners, you rock! Thank you for submitting such great questions. To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, we're going to be giving away a lot of books over the next few months... so stay tuned!

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his awesome sound editing skills. Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.)

Laura Ellen: Blog Tour

We are honored to kick off Laura Ellen's Blind Spot Blog Tour!

We had the opportunity to meet Laura this summer at the SCBWI conference to discuss her her debut novel, Blind Spot, which is a fantastically suspenseful mystery. Check out the publisher's description:

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

Sounds good, right? It IS! Blind Spot just came out this week from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Find out more in our interview with Laura!


Want to download this podcast? Click here for the mp3 or find us on iTunes.

And now for official Blog Tour business...

The first winner of Laura Ellen's Blogger Love Giveaway has been chosen! Congratulations to Nikki Wang at Fiction Freak - you will receive either a blog badge or button designed by Xpresso Design or your choice of any YA or MG book, plus a bag of swag from some upcoming authors! Laura will be contacting you.

Bloggers, there is still time to enter yourself in the Blogger Love Giveaway! Details are on Laura's website Contest page. While you are there, be sure to enter to win one of two signed hardcovers of Blind Spot.

But wait! There's more! Laura brought a Blind Spot bag of swag for Authors are ROCKSTARS! to give away too! For your chance to win, comment on this post by Monday, October 29 with the reason you're excited to read Blind Spot, and be sure to leave your email address so we can contact the winner. Contest open to US and Canada residents only.

Also, Southern California book lovers should check out this event:

Be sure to visit all the stops on the Blind Spot Blog Tour over the next few days, and hit up your local bookstore for your copy of Blind Spot!


Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula and Joshua Bertrand for making this interview sound so fabulous. We owe it all to them! :) Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.) 

Amy McNamara: Debut Author Edition

We chatted with the wonderful Amy McNamara about her debut novel, Lovely, Dark and Deep, which comes out tomorrow, October 16, from Simon & Schuster. We loved hearing about how she stayed grounded while writing such an emotionally intense story, and the different challenges between writing poetry and writing fiction.

Bonus: Amy and Michelle bust out their fantastic Midwestern accents, and Allison explains Otter Pops.


Want to download this podcast? Click here for a mp3 or find us on iTunes.

Amy also shared some lovely photos of her trip to Maine that she talks about on the show. Here are our two favorites.

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his awesome sound editing skills. Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.) 

Kendare Blake: Kickin' off October with GHOSTS!

OoooOooooo! (Imagine that was said in a spooky voice.) It's October, everyone! A month full of goblins, witches, and GHOSTS-- oh my! Speaking of ghosts, we have an awesome author on the show today who wrote a pretty fantastic two book series about some ghosts that aren't just going to jump out and say "Boo!" 

Allison and I were lucky enough to sit down via Skype with Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares. These books are spooktacular, folks, as is their author. Come listen to Kendare talk about writing super scary scenes, writing from the male perspective and what she has coming up next. We also asked her a few questions from you, her fans. 

Want to download this podcast? Click here for a mp3 or find us on iTunes.

We hope you enjoy listening as we enjoyed recording it. This month is going to be a busy one. Amy McNamara, Julie Kagawa, Laura Ellen and Michelle Hodkin are all coming up THIS month, so stay tuned. You do not want to miss a moment.

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his awesome sound editing skills. Please subscribe to Authors are ROCKSTARS! on iTunes so you'll never miss an episode! (And if you like us, please be so kind as to leave a review.)