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

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!)

Are you a Book Dragon?

Hey all,

Have you ever seen this meme? It always makes me laugh!

Of course when I do a school visit we ALWAYS talk dragons! And I love talking dragons on this blog as well. But if you want to meet other dragon fans (and fans of my books) and have a Facebook page, well I hope you will come join the discussion over at BOOK DRAGONS!

Isn't this a cool font? I found this crazy cool text generator online that I use all the time for cheesy/crazy fonts.

Just click on the link above and join the group and go ahead and introduce yourself! We can talk about the Scorched series, my Blood Coven Vampire series, about writing and publishing (I give tips and answer questions!), cosplay and more. I also offer sneak peeks exclusive giveaways, and other member only benefits. 

If you were once a member of the Blood Coven, this is sort of the next generation of that. So come by and join us!! We don't bite...much. :) 

MARI

Saturday Giveaway: Autographed copy of DIVERGENT!

Hey guys,

So as you know, I've been going to a gazillion events over the last few months. And there have been a LOT of free books to take home. I tried to be good -- really I did!  But I ended up with just TOO MANY BOOKS and my bookcases are overflowing.

SO... I've decided to start doing some giveaways leading up to the launch of SCORCHED! Some of the books will be autographed by the authors themselves. Some will be advanced copies of books not yet in store. ALL will be awesome.

I figured it was best to start out with a bang! So giveaway #1 is going to be a SIGNED paperback copy of DIVERGENT by the lovely Veronica Roth. I was fortunate to briefly meet Veronica at the RT Convention this year and she was extremely lovely. I can't wait for the movie!

Obviously you'd have to be living under a rock to not know Divergent, but just in case--here's a cover/description for you. And the Rafflecopter giveaway is below! Enter early and often and may the odds be EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!! (OK wrong book, but I couldn't resist!)

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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