Teen Author Carnival Tomorrow in NYC

Come see me and tons of other awesome authors tomorrow (Weds May 29th) at the Jefferson Market Library on 6th Avenue for the TEEN AUTHOR CARNIVAL. It's going to be really fun -- and best of all FREE. If you can't afford BEA this is the next best thing! 

I'm on two panels. One at 6:45 and one at 7:35. Hope to see you there! 

BEA - Where you can find me!

Next week I am headed off to one of my favorite events of the year - the Book Expo of America, otherwise known as BEA. BEA is this fabulous treasure trove of publishing folks all gathered into the Javits Center in New York City. There are signings and parties and panels and awesomeness galore.

Since a number of folks have asked me for my schedule while I'm there, I figured it was time to put it in writing.

Wednesday - May 29th

Teen Author Carnival 
Where: Jefferson Market Library (425 Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave))
When: 6:30pm
What: A gathering of awesome authors doing panel discussions! I will be participating in two panels: "World Play" at 6:45 and "She's No Pushover" at 7:35.

Thursday - May 30th 

Month 9 Books signing 
Where: Javits Center - Booth 2346 (Part of the Independent Book Publisher's Association)
When: 3pm
What: Jackie Morse Kessler and I will be revealing the cover of the Very Superstitious Charity Anthology and also doing a signing and giveaway.
* Note * If you have other books of mine (brought from home or whatever) this would be a good opportunity to come by and have them signed.

Friday - June 1st 

Scorched signing
Where: Javits Center - Booth 829 (Sourcebooks both)
When: 3pm
What: Signing of ARCs of Scorched while supplies last
*Note* Come early! I can't stress that enough! We have a limited amount of ARCs and I know they're going to be in hot demand. I will be very sad if I have to turn you away ARCless.

Saturday - June 2nd 

Shindig video chat 
Where: Virtual event - on the inter webs!
When: 11:30 - 12pm
What: Me and two other Sourcebooks authors (Laurie Boyle Crompton, Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains) and Jess Verdi, My Life After Now) will be participating in a live video chat. So if you can't come to BEA in person, you can see me online! 
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If none of these events work for you - never fear! I will be hanging out at the Javits for much of the week and I will be checking Twitter and Facebook. If you want to meet up or say hi or get a book signed, just tweet or message me and I'm sure we can make it happen!

Cannot wait to go! 
MARI

Want to win an advanced copy of Scorched? Here are 2 ways!

Hey all,

Can't wait until September to get your copy of Scorched? No problem! I've got two chances for you to win one!

First up - go to my Facebook page and share the book cover photo. (Make sure to LIKE me too, while you're there!)

Second, head over to the amazing Victoria Scott's blog. She scored a Scorched ARC at TLA which I signed and is giving it away to a reader.

Good luck! And may the dragons be EVER in your favor. ;-)

MARI

New Adult release: Love at 11 - 99 cents for a limited time!

Hey all,

I've been so excited about the upcoming release of Scorched that I've been neglectful in telling you about another new release. This month only, my New Adult novel LOVE AT 11 is only 99 cents on all digital platforms. After May it'll go up to $3.99 so you might want to get it now. You can also get a paperback version if you prefer.

Here's all you need to know! And just FYI this book is NEW adult not YOUNG adult so there is some content in it that might not be suitable for my younger readers. 16+ please.

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * iBooks * Kobo

When Maddy graduated from Columbia University, she was ready to change the world. She'd get a job at Newsline, meet a nice guy, and live happily ever after with a real designer handbag on her arm. Two years later, she's stuck producing puff pieces for News 9 San Diego--where "if it bleeds, it leads." She's still single, her family's falling apart, and so is her knock-off Kate Spade.



Then Jamie Hayes walks through her newsroom door. The former filmmaker is now her cameraman and everything Maddy has ever dreamed of. Creative, smart, and sweet--with eyes that could make a girl melt. The perfect guy...but perfectly unavailable. And the more Maddy tries to stay away--the further she starts to fall.

Now a secret scoop from her favorite knock-off purse guy has Maddy chasing a lead that could make her career. Or destroy it forever. How far is she willing to go to broadcast the truth? And will this breaking news lead to more broken dreams...or an exclusive on Jamie's heart? Stay tuned... It's the story of a lifetime.

"Sassy, clever, and surprisingly heartwarming."

- Gemma Halliday, NY Times bestselling author

"What a great read! Heart warming, funny, sweet and a page turner from start to finish!"

- Tara Sivec, Bestselling author of Seduction and Snacks

Originally published in paperback as "News Blues."

YAB Fest Wrap-Up

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to take part in YAB FEST -- (Young Adult Book Fest) at Round Rock High School in Round Rock, Texas. It was the first year for this festival - but hopefully not the last since it was all kinds of awesome. The organizers were amazingly prepared and treated the authors like rock stars, the booksellers from The Book Spot put together the most tempting temporary on-site book store ever, and the teens who came out were amazing!

I took part in the "The Monstrous Love of My Life" panels with CC Hunter, Victoria Scott, and Mary Lindsey. We talked about writing paranormal YA and why it's so appealing to readers. Everyone asked great questions and hopefully we informed and entertained! I snuck in a little talk about Scorched as well - even though it's fantasy rather than paranormal. But how could I not...once I found out the mascot of Round Rock High...

You guessed it! They're the dragons. Let me tell you my envy of the t-shirts some of the librarians were wearing that said DRAGON PRIDE. Um, want! 

So I spoke, I signed tons of books and t-shirts, gave away stickers and bookmarks, and generally had an amazing day. The best part? Meeting readers like Rebekah. I gave her my last extra copy of Scorched, much to the dismay of some of my author friends...who have been begging for a copy for months. Sorry ladies! 

All and all, an awesome day of books! Can't wait to do it again next year!!! 

MARI

Dragons on Tumblr and Pinterest

Hey all,

Anyone here on Tumblr? While I promise to keep using this blog to update you on all things Mari -- signings, new books, contests, etc -- I also recently started a new Tumblr to catalog all the awesome dragon stuff I come across each day. From cool artwork to jewelry to jokes -- I try to pick one or two dragon things each day and put them up for show.

In addition I also do a Scorched board on Pinterest where I've been posting cool dragon stuff and things that remind me of the book.

So--for those of you into that kind of thing, feel free to stop by and/or follow!

Tumblr: Feed Your Dragons

Pinterest: Scorched Board

YAB Fest this Saturday!

If you're in the Round Rock/Austin area, I hope you will come see me this Saturday at YAB Fest, the YA Teen Book Festival being held at Round Rock High School.

Where: 301 Deepwood Drive, Building 1100, Round Rock, TX

When: Saturday, May 11 from 9am to 5pm

Who: Awesome authors from all over the country! Including the current #1 NYT Bestselling YA author, Kiera Cass, who I had the chance to hang out with last week at RT. (She's a blast. You will love her.) They've also got David Levithan and Andrea Cremer as the keynote speakers and many, many other awesome authors (as listed below.)

I will be heading up a panel on Monster Boyfriends and why we love them!

So come see us speak! And get some signed books! I promise it'll be a good time, had by all!
MARI

David Levithan (keynote)	Andrea Cremer (keynote)
E. Kristin Anderson	Jessica Lee Anderson
Sharon Bayliss	Kiera Cass
Ernest Cline	Krissi Dallas
Jordan Dane	Tracy Deebs
Beth Fehlbaum	Rachel Harris
PJ Hoover	C.C. Hunter
Greg Leitich Smith	Mary Lindsey
Mari Mancusi	Emily McKay
Cory Putman Oakes	Lindsey Scheibe
Victoria Scott	Amy Tintera

And the title for Scorched #2 is....

Hey all,

Often "time" for authors can seem a little out of whack. I remember when writing Blood Coven, I was often two books ahead from what was out in bookstores. It was tough, sometimes to keep from giving away spoilers and remembering what was already in the published books and what was to come!

Same now with Scorched. While you guys haven't even read the first one yet (unless you were one of the lucky ones to score an ARC at IRA or TLA) I'm already hard at work on Scorched #2, which doesn't come out until September 2014!

So while I promise to be careful with giving out any spoilers, I can tell you we have an (at least temporary) title for book #2. Now there's no guarantee this will stay the title - the powers that be at Sourcebooks have the final say on that! But for now, we're calling book #2 .... drum roll please! ....




What do you think? I'm kind of digging these one word titles, myself. They're a lot easier to say in conversation (as opposed to, say, my first book, "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court") and, as a bonus, leave more room on the cover for dragon awesomeness. It'll probably be a while before we actually get to see the cover of Shattered - maybe not even until next year! -- but it feels good to have a title at the very least.

Mari

First "official" review of Scorched...from Kirkus reviews

Confession: we author types get increasingly nervous the nearer we get to release day. Will readers like the book? Will we get slammed or lauded by reviewers? Will anyone buy a copy? I've been especially anxious about Scorched since it's a brand new series. (After eight books of Blood Coven I'd kind of heard it all and knew what to expect, lol.) So I was extremely psyched to get this review from the tough-as-nails Kirkus Reviews!  It's the first "official" review (from a major review publication) and it's really good! Full review below:

Kirkus Reviews

Which came first? The dragon, the egg or the fiery destruction of life as we know it? Sixteen-year-old Trinity Foxx adores her kooky grandfather, and after the tragic death of her mother, he's the only family she has. This makes it all the more difficult to reprimand him for foolishly spending all of their limited cash on a supposed dragon egg. Before she can determine how to rescue both their home and the once-reputable West Texas museum they run from foreclosure, twin brothers with a long-standing Cain-and-Abel rivalry appear from the future. Both brothers are there to collect Trinity. Both want possession of the egg. Both want to save the world from an apocalyptic future via starkly different but equally menacing means. Whom can Trinity trust?

Though the story is told in third person primarily from Trinity's perspective, there are insightful passes of the baton to each of the dueling brothers and even a dragon. Refreshingly, there is no shying away from warranted violence and gore, and Trinity's mentions of booze and boy-crazy flirtations only make her more likable and grounded in increasingly bizarre surroundings. In a book full of hits, the main misses are a dastardly villain whose creepiness could stand more page space and an ending so loose it practically forces readers to get the next book for closure. A smoking triptych of time traveling, dubious double-crossing and enough dragons to sate the hungriest of gamers and fantasy fiends. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

I love that they used the word "warranted" when describing the violence and gore. No gratuitous gore here, people! It's all necessary to the plot! Yeah! :) And as far as the loose ending, well anyone who's familiar with my work knows that's my specialty! Cliffhangers for the win!!

All in all an AWESOME review. Thanks for letting me share!

MARI