Where I talk about Scorched

Hey all!

Happy holidays!! Whatever you celebrate - I hope it was awesome and involved friends, family and CAKE. (Or pie or other such treats.)

For those of you who aren't subscribed to my YouTube channel... AND WHY AREN'T YOU? I've decided to do a series of videos for this upcoming year, talking about books and such. The first of which talks about the Scorched series, the story behind the series, and the future of the books.

I've embedded it here, but really -- subscribe!! :) And if you have any topics you want me to talk about in future videos - let me know!!

xo
MARI

New Scorched book video!! :)

And don't forget - SCORCHED is on sale for just $1.99 on all e-book platforms this month!! 

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Get SCORCHED for $1.99 for a limited time!!

Great news!! For a limited time, my publisher has discounted the ebook version of SCORCHED to just $1.99 on all ebook platforms. If you've been wanting to try the book out, but hadn't gotten around to it--this is a great chance to add it to your collection!

Amazon - Barnes and Noble - iBooks - Kobo 

Books also make GREAT holiday gifts, so if you have a dragon lover on your list, you might consider a nice little e-book gift certificate stocking stuffer. OR you can always get a paperback or hardcover -- and if you order them directly from me, you can have them personally autographed, too!

I also want to take this chance to thank all of you for your support of me and my books over the years. I've been publishing for TEN (!!) years now and I still get such a kick out of every email you send and every tweet and FB and instagram message. I love meeting readers who have been reading my books for years and those of you who have just discovered them! Some of you found me as teens and are now adults--with kids of your own. (In fact, a first for me - one of my long time readers named their baby girl after one of my characters! How cool is that?)

Sometimes it's hard to stay focused on what I do, especially watching all the tragedy in the world. But I do believe books are important. They give people an escape from reality for a few blissful hours. They show us that we're not alone. And best of all, they give us the hope of a happy ending. Something we are all looking for in the end. So I promise to keep on writing, as long as you guys keep on reading!

Love,
MARI

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