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.) 

Alyson Noël: September Podcast

Ava, Allison, Alyson, and Michelle (with a little rockstar baby on board!)

Along with our fabulous teen correspondent, Ava, we got together with New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël last month to chat about The Soul Seekers series, the appeal of flawed characters, and her amazingly disciplined writing routine. We had such a blast talking to Alyson! Honestly, we could have listened to her all day.

In this episode, we also share our book picks of the month. Michelle chose pretty much everything ever written by Julie Kagawa (because, by the way, Julie will be on the show next month!) and Allison chose Every Day by David Levithan.


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

Thanks very much to rockin' publicist Deb Shapiro for setting up this fabulous interview with Alyson! And thank you to the Mission Viejo Library for providing us with interview space. If you enjoyed our interview with Alyson, be sure to catch up with her at alysonnoel.com.

Now listeners, we have a giveaway for you! Win a paperback of Evermore, signed by the very lovely Alyson Noël. Leave a comment on this post and tell us if you prefer an ideal love interest in fiction, or someone with a few flaws and quirks. Be sure to leave your email in your comment so we can write to you if you're the winner! Deadline for entries is October 1. Contest open to US residents only.

EDIT: The giveaway has ended, but wow! What a great discussion. Congratulations to Crysta and thanks to random.org for making selecting a winner so simple.

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.) 

Sophie Jordan: Road Trip Edition Podcast

Last year, we interviewed Sophie Jordan via Skype in advance of the second book in her wildly romantic Firelight trilogy. This year, we were thrilled to get to meet Sophie in person to talk about the final Firelight book, Hidden! The book just came out from HarperTeen, and listeners, you are going to LOVE it.

Sophie was so kind to take time out of her busy schedule to chat with us at the Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim earlier this summer. We had a blast sitting down with this fabulous New York Times bestselling author, and asking her our questions about finishing up the Firelight trilogy, and also asking some awesome questions from her fans. If you submitted a question, be sure to listen and see if she answered it! (We also have a pressing question for any baristas in the audience, if you happen to be listening!)


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

As if it wasn't enough of a treat to have Sophie Jordan back on the show this month, we've also got a GIVEAWAY for you! We are giving away one autographed ARC of Hidden to a lucky listener. Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post, telling us what you found most interesting about this interview, because Sophie is awesome. Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you if you win!

Deadline for entries is Friday, September 14. Contest open to US residents only.

EDIT: Congrats to Kat who won this giveaway!!

On another note... author event alerts for Southern Californians!

Big news for Fallen fans! Lauren Kate will speak at the Ovitt Family Community Library in Ontario on Wednesday, September 12, at 3:30 pm. Arrive early for good seats! More info here.

The Rancho Santa Margarita Library in Orange County is hosting a Teen Author Panel on Wednesday, September 19th from 4 - 5:30 pm. Meet authors Cecil Castellucci, Christine Fonseca, Janet Tashjian, Pamela Wells, and Sue Zeidler! More info here.

Books will be available for purchase at both events. Sadly, we won't be able to attend, but we hope you can make it!

Podcast hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineer, Marc Conrad Tabula for his 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.)

Raina Telgemeier: Road Trip Edition Podcast

Get ready for Drama! The newest graphic novel from Raina Telgemeier comes out September 1st from Scholastic, and we are thrilled to bring you an interview with this fabulous Eisner Award winning author and artist.If you're a drama geek like us-- or if you just happen to like really awesome graphic novels (and who doesn't?!)-- tune in to hear about Raina's student theater experiences, what it was like to win an Eisner award for Smile, and how she came to draw and write The Babysitters Club graphic novels- as well as an insightful discussion of the babysitter personalities. (Trust us, you will come away with a whole new image of Stacey after you listen to this!)

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

We are also happy to announce the winners of our two giveaways that ended yesterday! The winner of Kiersten White's Endlessly is Alicia Marie. The upcoming Kiersten White project she's most excited about is Mind Games. In her comment, she said "Just seeing the cover was enough to make me need it, but after reading about it, I need it even more!" The winner of the Lorien Legacies series (courtesy of HarperCollins) is Enna P. We are still happy to take questions for our upcoming interviews with Michelle Hodkin, Julie Kagawa and Kendare Blake. Just leave a comment with your question or tweet it to us @AuthorsROCK.

Thank you so much to all of you who participated. We have a lot of giveaways planned for future podcasts. We just love sending people presents!

Hosting courtesy of archive.org. Intro music by 46bliss. Special thanks to our sound engineers for this episode Marc Conrad Tabula for helping make the interview sound fabulous. 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!)