Book + Jewelry = win!

I'm so pleased to have Gamer Girl back in the Scholastic Book Fair this year! And even better? This time it comes packaged with its own jewelry! Two little 8-bit-style heart necklaces - just like the kind of you used to be able to find in old Zelda games!! Now you can wear your lives around your neck when venturing out your quests!!

Scholastic was nice enough to send me two necklaces and one of the newly licensed versions of the book itself! I'm hoping this promotion will introduce Gamer Girl and Fields of Fantasy to a whole new group of readers!! It's kind of crazy--the book first came out back in 2008 -- seven years ago!! My life was COMPLETELY different back then...I was living in New York City, working as a TV producer for a national news magazine show, and I had just met my boyfriend (now husband!) If only I had known then, where I'd be eight years later -- and that the book was still being distributed to readers -- I think I would have been pretty happy, to say the least!!

In any case, whether you get Gamer Girl from Scholastic -- or at your local bookstore or online -- I hope you enjoy Maddy's adventures - both online and in Fields of Fantasy!!

And when you're done? Make sure to check out THE CAMELOT CODE for another great video game inspired book!!

Check out Camelot Code here! 

Love, 

Mari

What to read after SMOKED?

Hey all, 

As you probably know, SMOKED is the final book in the Scorched series. And for those of you who have now finished it, you might be wondering what to read next from me!

And I do have a suggestion!

If you liked the voice of Scorched as well as the apocalyptic setting, the action, the adventure, you might try my novel TOMORROW LAND. It's not a dragon book--it's a ZOMBIE book! And it takes place in two time periods: just before the zombie apocalypse (as people start realizing it's happening) and four years after everything's gone down.

So kind of like "Fear the Walking Dead" and "The Walking Dead" mashed together. With a love story. And Disney World.

Yes, Disney World! :)

The premise of the book is that Walt Disney World is the last safe haven from the zombie apocalypse. Mankind's one human outpost left. And our hero and heroine and their companions have to make their way down to this outpost so the heroine, Peyton, can reunite with her scientist father. He's put some important information in her head that may help save the world. If she can get there to let him extract it.

In addition to zombies and apocalypses, there's a little bit of cyberpunk to the book as well. Peyton has been engineered by her father to be bigger, stronger, faster. With ocular implants in her eyes and retractable razors in her fingertips. Much like the heroine of her father's favorite book, Neuromancer. (One of my favorite books of all time, too!) 

In other words, she's a zombie killing machine. 

Anyway, I think it's a perfect "next book" for those who completed the Scorched series and I hope you will check it out. Here is the blurb and buy links below:

Nineteen-year-old Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now four years later, as she steps out from the fallout shelter and into a zombie-infested world, he's the only thing on her mind. 

Thanks to her father Peyton is now built to survive: with razor tipped nails, ocular implants and cybernetics that make her stronger, faster, and able to protect herself in a world filled with monsters. Yet all the weapons in the world can't protect her heart when she runs into Chris again. The once sweet boy of her childhood has now grown into a tortured man--still furious at her for breaking his heart and never telling him why.

Now the two of them find themselves on the run, forced to fight their way down the monster strewn east coast to reach the last human outpost on Earth: Walt Disney World. Can they find a way to let go of old hurts and regain the love they lost--all while attempting to save what's left of the human race?

Paperback copy 

Kindle
Nook
iBooks
Kobo

One other interesting note? The cover for Tomorrow Land was designed by the same artist who did the Scorched series!! Tony Sahara. He's awesome, don't you think??'

MARI

Get your GOLD on!

Hey all,

It's hard for me to believe, but we're just a couple months away from the release of my first middle grade novel, GOLDEN GIRL, coming December 15th. This novel has been a long time in coming and I'm so excited to finally release it into the world. And even more exciting? Kirkus, a very prestigious book review magazine, just posted a very stellar, first review for the book! In other words, we're off to a GOLDEN start!!

Here's the review!

KIRKUS REVIEW

With a dad who is a former Winter X Games athlete and an impressive achievement record of her own, Lexi seems poised for the Olympics when a devastating snowboarding accident occurs.

After a lengthy recovery, 13-year-old Lexi returns to her prestigious training school with ambivalence. At school, Lexi faces an old rival and a former best friend—and plenty of doubt about her abilities. Chronicling Lexi’s emotional turmoil as she struggles to re-enter the high-intensity training environment, Mancusi explores the pressures young, driven athletes may encounter, whether from their families, their coaches, or themselves. Meeting Logan, a snowboarder and son of a school employee, provides Lexi with a new sense of the possibilities beyond competitive snowboarding. When an opportunity to join Logan’s friends’ band arises, Lexi must determine if there is room in her life for more than training. Along with Lexi’s evolving relationship with Logan, Mancusi includes some intrigue. Lexi questions the circumstances surrounding her accident, believing rival Olivia was the culprit who caused Lexi’s fall, but the truth surprises her. Lexi emerges with a mature perspective about competition and a confidence that the world offers myriad possibilities.

Mancusi’s engrossing tale provides a gripping glimpse at competitive snowboarding and a penetrating look at friendships within that context. (Fiction. 11-14)

Thanks for letting me share!! You can find out more about GOLDEN GIRL (or pre-order a copy) with the links below. It will be available in Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook formats.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Independent Bookstores 

What are you reading...and wearing...to YALLFest?

Hey all,

One of the most exciting events I have lined up this fall, post DragonCon, is YALLFest in Charleston, South Carolina, November 14th. It's a huge, crazy YA festival, with TONS of amazing bestselling authors, including R. L. Stine, Richelle Mead, Brandon Sanderson, Meg Cabot, Libba Bray, Zac Brewer, Rae Carson, Rick Yancey, Marie Lu, Melissa de la Cruz -- I could go on and on and on. (You can click here for the full list.)

Suffice to say, I am very honored to have been invited to participate! It's totally one of those events where I will be doing double-duty as author AND fan girl. :)

In any case, in gearing up for the big event, the awesome Charleston County Library book blog, READING UNDERGOUND, put together a fun blog post, pairing books of authors in the festival with outfits that matched the covers or the characters. How cool is that?

Anyway, they did one for GAMER GIRL and I thought I'd steal it and post it here. But you should totally check out the rest of the book outfits, too!

Don't you love this? I totally think my heroine, Maddy, would approve. Now we just need to do one for her Fields of Fantasy Elven alter-ego, Allora, right?

This is actually the second book fashion compilation I've seen for my books. Another blogger, who runs the tumblr, Fashion-by-the-Book (cute title!) also did an outfit for SCORCHED a while back.

Cute, right? The very epitome of dragon-apocalyptic chic! :) 

Anyway, I think the program they use for these mashups if Polyvore. If anyone wants to try their hand on another book cover/fashion, I'd totally love to see it!! 

MARI

DRAGONS: CAUGHT ON TAPE

Hey all, 

When I started writing the Scorched series, one of the most interesting parts was imagining how people in our time would react to seeing dragons in real life. How would they react? What would they do? Would they be frightened, fascinated—maybe a little of each? Would the cable news stations debate the reality of their existence? Would the government come in and try to take them down—or use them for their own gain and cover it up in an X-Files’esque type conspiracy?

And most importantly, would people upload their dragon sightings to YouTube? Would they take dragon selfies?

In Smoked, Team Dragon launches a social media campaign to help Emmy gain recognition and acceptance in our world. It was fun to imagine how a group would promote dragons and make them go viral. As part of my research, I went and looked on YouTube to see if there were any dragon sightings already uploaded. And, to my surprise (and delight) there were!

I compiled a few fun ones for you to check out. Fact? Fiction? Real? Fake? You’ll have to decide…

“Real Dragon Caught on Camera”

“Real Dragon sightings in China” (This one is hard to see at first, but once you watch for a minute it’s really cool.)

Ball field dragon sighting  (Just like Emmy landing in the football field!)

Happy Book Birthday to The Affiliate (And a GIVEAWAY!)

Hey all, 

Looking for an amazing new fantasy read? I've been waiting for this one all year long! The YA debut of USA Today bestselling author K. A. Linde, called THE AFFILIATE. 

First, isn't the cover gorgeous? 

Sarah Hansen of OKAY CREATIONS really outdid herself with this one!

And check out what other authors are saying about the book itself! 

"The Affiliate is a lush world of myth, prophecy, and politics, filled with sexy kings and princes, a scheming court, and a thousand years of mystery. I couldn't put it down!" --Bethany Hagen, author of Landry Park 

“With rich romance and twisty political intrigue, THE AFFILIATE is a breakneck fantasy ride that's perfect for fans of THE SELECTION or THRONE OF GLASS.” –Susan Dennard, author of Something Strange and Deadly

"The Affiliate is...so unique. I’ve simply not read anything like it." --Donna from Book Passion for Life 

And finally -- here's what it's about!!

On the day of her Presenting, in front of the entire Byern Court, seventeen-year-old Cyrene Strohm's lifelong plans come to fruition when she's chosen for one of the most prestigious positions in her homeland—an Affiliate to the Queen.

Or so she thinks.
When Cyrene receives a mysterious letter and an unreadable book, she finds nothing is as it seems. Thrust into a world of dangerous political intrigue and deadly magic, Cyrene's position only grows more treacherous when she finds herself drawn to the one man she can never have...

King Edric himself.
Cyrene must decide if love is truly worth the price of freedom. Find out in this first book in USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde’s new Ascension series.

You know you want to read this, right? Well, K. A. Linde was nice enough to give me a signed paperback copy to give away to a lucky blog reader!! Just leave a comment in the comments section and you'll be entered to win. The question to answer: 

* What is it about the fantasy genre that keeps you coming back for more? 

In the meantime, buy links are below if you're ready (like me!) to one click this bad boy! 

Amazon
iBooks
Paperback 

MARI

HERE BE DRAGONS (And authors!)

Because I was at DragonCon last week and the week before my book release signings are happening this week instead! So excited to visit bookstores and meet readers and sign books--it's one of my favorite parts of the job! After all, writing can be a solitary venture, sitting at home all day, all alone, with only the interwebs to keep me company. (aka distract me!)

On Weds, Sept 16th at 7pm I will be doing a talk and signing at BOOK PEOPLE in Austin, one of the country's most awesome independent bookstores. I am always so honored when they invite me to sign--as some of the biggest authors in the world have sat in these chairs. (It can also be a bit intimidating but the staff is so supportive to local authors!) So I'm definitely looking forward to that!

And then, as you can see above, I'll also be signing at Barnes and Noble in San Antonio (the La Cantera one) on Saturday at 2pm. I was supposed to actually sign with them back in the summer along with a few other authors and ended up having to miss. So I'm excited to be invited back! Especially with such an AMAZING display at the store. This is something you don't always think about when an author does a bookstore visit. While you may only be in the store for a couple hours, actually signing books, displays like these can really draw attention and bring in potential new readers!

Also, the dragon stuff animals are SUPER CUTE. I totally have to take one (okay maybe more than one) home with me after the signing!!

Later in the month I will also be doing a signing at the Barnes and Noble in McAllen, Texas with PJ Hoover.

In addition to signings I've got a lot of other cool stuff coming up. For example, I was honored to be chosen as one of the authors for the TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL on the weekend of September 17th. And I'll be hanging in costume, signing and selling books, at AUSTIN COMIC CON (Wizard World) over Halloween weekend. And then there's perhaps the most exciting event of all - YALL FEST in November! This will be my very first YALL FEST and I'm so thrilled to get to take part!

I'm also hoping to set up school visits and Skype visits this fall so if you're a teacher or librarian interested in scheduling something, definitely let me know!

In the meantime, hope to see you at a bookstore near you! :)

MARI