Blog Tour: DIY Mason Jar Vase // Down with the Shine - Kate Karyus Quinn

Title: Down With The Shine
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Publisher: HarperTEEN

There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.

These are things Lennie only learns when it's too late-after she brings some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn't mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles' moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their "important family legacy," she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.

Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can't be unmade...

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

DIY MASON JARS

I am very excited to be writing this post right now. When I first heard of this tour, I had the idea instantly from the cover of the novel. Mason jars are so great for drinking but they also make some pretty cool decorative pieces. Today, we're going to be making some flower vases. This is for plastic/fake flowers only. As far as I know, the paint mixing with the water for real flowers is toxic.

Materials: 

• Mason jar
• Two bowls
• Glitter. You can choose whatever color[s] you want for some lovely sparkle.
• Acrylic paint. I made the mistake of getting bad quality paint from Walmart. I recommend going to an art store to get some paint that won't peel. This brand in this picture will peel and it will be annoying as f.
• Brushes
• Elmer's clear glue.
• Plastic flowers [Walmart]
• Pliers.

Step One: Mix glue and glitter into one bowl. [Image one] Obviously, the product is glitter glue. With this mixture, coat the inside of the jar. Don't spread it too thick or it'll drip. It's better to go really thin and do multiple coats. [Final product, image two.]
*note: you can't mix paint and glitter. If it's super obvious why, it wasn't to me. I lost all my green glitter in the blue paint, oh well. [Basically, the paint will completely coat the glitter.]

Step Two: while the glitter is drying, you can start cutting the flowers. Specifically, the flowers I bought were in one big bouquet so they needed to be cut to the size of the jar. The flowers I have also have metal in the stems so pliers are required. If your flowers are different/already cut to perfect size, then congratulations! You have less work. YAY!

Step Three: Put the paint in another bowl and starting laying down a coat. Same rules apply. Thin coats help dry faster. If your first coat dries cracked and uneven, you may want to rethink your paint. However, if you're like me, you can do a few more coats. I did like three or four and it looks relatively okay. Another idea I wanted to explore was to cover the cracks with another color. That would be so awesome!

As you can see below, it looks kind of cool with the glitter and the paint.

Step Four: Put it together.

Honestly, this is such a simple and inexpensive craft. In total, I spent like ten dollars, which is pretty good to me; especially since some of these can be materials you already have in the house. Right now, I leave this jar on my shelf to add a bit more color and life. If you're like me and can't keep plants alive, I definitely recommend this craft - and don't forget to check out DOWN WITH THE SHINE!

Kate's Twitter | Website

Kate Karyus Quinn is an avid reader and menthol chapstick addict. She has lived in California and Tennessee, but recently made the move back to her hometown of Buffalo, New York, with her husband and two children in tow. She promised them wonderful people, amazing food, and weather that would... build character. Another Little Piece is her first novel.

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I'M VENTURING INTO BOOKTUBE + GIVEAWAY

So I do this thing where I want to be able to experience/learn how to do everything before I get old. I know I have lots of time but I'm constantly looking for new things. I tweeted this out, saying that I would love to become an author, produce music, play a concert, learn how to paint, blow something up in science class and on that list was, make videos.

As luck would have it, I was watching old movies in my basement when I stumbled upon a tripod [it its original box!] and a video camera. I filmed singing videos before, on my other channel but those were done with a fourth generation iPod. So to be able to use what I feel like is legit stuff was so cool! It must be fate because none of this stuff was used and when I asked my parents, they were more than happy to see it being used.

The question I want to address right now... "Are you leaving blogging?"
Most sane people would be like, "yeah, since I'm doing time consuming videos, I should probably stick with one medium." LEL NO. I am a glutton for punishment and the only time I feel alive is when I'm stressed out about something. I will be blogging AND booktubing. [At this point, I'm thinking of BookTubing on the side... but WHO KNOWS! Maybe one day I'll feel comfortable recording a video while my parents are in the house.] 

I filmed my first video, which is an intro video, here. It explains why I'm using my blog's name for my BookTube channel and what "Out of Time" means. I also crack one or two [painful] jokes. My apologies in advance. I'd really appreciate all of the support as I'm right back to being a newbie again!

Also, tips. If you have tips/feedback on BookTubing, lay it on me! I need it.

GIVEAWAY TIME

I knew I wanted to celebrate me starting a new thing with a giveaway but I wasn't sure what to give away. And then... It hit me.

I've been fortunate enough to get ARCs for books that are coming out this Fall/Winter. So I'm going to give you a chance to win a pre-order of any book you want that comes out this fall. It could be a debut author, fifth in a series - whatever you want! Best part? This is open internationally - woo hoo!

Enter nowwwwww!

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Teen Me with Charlotte Huang + Giveaway!

->Charlotte Huang is one of the coolest people I've met this year! Major yay for debuts <3 This post was supposed to be for 3xA MA however, I had personal problems and therefore, it threw off my schedule. While I can't turn back time, I would never let such a great post go to waste, so I'm featuring Charlotte today!

I’m sharing fifteen fun facts about my teen self in honor of 2015 being my debut year. I had to get a little creative/random with some of the entries to stay with the theme but I hope you enjoy it!

1. I had one job in high school. During breaks, I worked at a hippie health food café in the center of town. My favorite thing about it was that it was very social. Some of my friends also worked there and many days it felt like everyone we knew came through to say hi.

2. I had to take my driver’s license test two times. I failed the first one because I couldn’t back into a parking spot from a ninety-degree angle. Even though did it on the second test, I’d be hesitant to do it today. However, I am an excellent parallel parker.

3. I went to three proms. Sadly, the one I enjoyed least was my own. For one of them, my boyfriend and I each got asked by friends (neither of us went to their school) and went separately as their dates. The funniest thing was that our dates weren’t in the same circle so we sat at different tables. That one was probably the most fun.

4. I grew up in New England and what I miss most about it is having four seasons. Fall is my favorite (foliage!) and it doesn’t exist in LA.

5. I’d estimate that I had five hours of homework each night. This might be a slight exaggeration but it’s not wildly off. Homework ruled my life but I never got it all done.

6. I went to a high school that had classes every other Saturday—that’s right, a six-day school week.

7. I could fill my wardrobe for seven dollars. My adult germaphobe self shudders about this now, but my favorite place was a “vintage” store, called “Dollar Per Pound.” It was a warehouse/loft in Boston with heaps of clothing on the floor. You waded into the piles, filled bags and weighed them when you were done. And then--you guessed it—you paid a dollar for every pound of clothing.

8. To me the best thing about the eighties was MTV.

9. Someone once told me that everyone has an “eternal age”, meaning that you get to a certain age and more or less feel that way for the rest of your life. For me that age is nineteen.

10. Tenth grade was my favorite year of high school. I did well in school, had mad crushes on lots of cute boys and had great friends.

11. In eleventh grade, I switched from my town’s public high school to a local private boarding school, which I attended as a day student. This was a huge change and I’ve only recently started to appreciate all the unique things about the private school.

12. Dunkin’ Donuts is a Boston institution and was one of my favorite late night hangouts. My usual order was a medium regular coffee (cream and two sugars) with a coffee roll, and I always took home a dozen (12) donuts. Yum!

13. My family moved from Winchester to Andover, Massachusetts when I was thirteen. Though it was hard, I think it was ultimately good for me to have a fresh start.

14. I love traveling. My parents liked to take one big trip every summer and when I was fourteen, we went to China for a month. We spent a few days in Tibet, which is one of the most beautiful and interesting places I’ve ever been.

15. I could get ready for school in fifteen minutes. I still have this talent and I owe it to the fact that I spent most of high school very deprived of sleep.

Now you know way more about teen me than you ever wanted to. I’m actually proud of myself for pulling this off. Thanks for reading!


Wow, thanks so much, Charlotte! And you can enter a giveaway below :)

Charlotte's Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Charlotte Huang is a graduate of Smith College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School, which is clearly something every aspiring writer should do. When not glued to her computer, she cheers her two sons on at sporting events and sometimes manages to stay up late enough to check out bands with her music agent husband. Charlotte lives in Los Angeles and is the author of For the Record (Delacorte, 2015)
Represented by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary.

 

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3xA MA: Becky Albertalli

 

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.

1. When I was in elementary school, I went through a phase where I wanted all books to be about anthropomorphic dogs and cats. The presence of even one human character could ruin a story for me.

2. I also kept a journal of my own stories, and one day, I discovered someone had drawn a picture on one of the pages. I was about ten years old at the time. I still remember how exposed I felt, knowing that someone (I still don’t know who) had read my secret writing.

3. My style in middle school: Umbro athletic shorts, oversized t-shirt featuring a wolf’s face, white Nike sneakers, glasses smudged with dirt.

4. I read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER when I was fifteen or sixteen, and I wanted Charlie to be real so badly that I literally cried about it.

5. In high school, I kissed exactly zero people. But I did spend about ninety-nine percent of my time daydreaming about kissing.

6. In college, my friends and I went through the obligatory phase of semi-ironically watching the entire canon of Olsen twins movies. My proudest moment was probably when I explained to the Blockbuster employee that Winning London was stuck in my VCR…but I still needed to rent Passport to Paris.

7. I have seen the movie Wet Hot American Summer approximately fifty million times, and I can still quote giant sections of dialogue.

8. One of my favorite places in the world is Glen Echo Park, outside Washington D.C. I had my wedding there!

9. The vast majority of the characters in my books are given names I love that I couldn’t use for my kids. The main character of my work-in-progress is named after my grandmothers.

10. I still can’t believe SIMON is a real book. I can’t even wrap my head around it. This is a story about a kid with my birthday, who loves everything I love and lives in a thinly veiled version of my hometown. I will never stop being amazed that this person I made up lives in other people’s heads now, too.

Guys, if you haven't checked out Becky's book, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I STRONGLY recommend it!

Enter the giveaway below! 
Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen 
Want more fun? Check out the other authors featured here.

Becky's Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Becky Albertalli is a clinical psychologist who has had the privilege of conducting therapy with dozens of smart, weird, irresistible teenagers. She also served for seven years as co-leader of a support group for gender nonconforming children in Washington, DC. She now lives with her family in Atlanta.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is her first novel

You guys can win food. Enter. Like, don't even question it at all.
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3xA MA: Francesca Zappia

 

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.


Besides having a great name [us "Z's" need to stick together!], Francesca Zappia is the author of a book that I'm so excited to read: Made You Up.

When I was little, everything was terrifying. Old abandoned cars in the woods; weird tree knots; doves cooing; answering the telephone. Clowns, ants, dark spots on the bottom of the pool. The pool, too. I had nightmares about evil dinosaurs, disembodied hands, eyeless fishermen, and driving. Just hearing the title The Neverending Story gave me chills, because the thought of things that didn’t end sounded like the worst kind of fever dream.

I wasn’t scared of these things by the time I hit my teens. (Except clowns. Clowns will be scary forever and always.) By my teens I was writing every day, and I think writing was what made all those things interesting instead of terrifying. Writing gave me a way to translate everything that made me scared and anxious into something understandable. Scary things became mysterious things that were fun to work into stories.

Weirdly enough, I lost all those fears and became scared of writing. It was never a fear of the actual act of writing, thankfully--I had a lot of big ideas, and even though I executed them terribly, I still had fun writing them--it was about having people read what I’d written.

Mostly I didn’t think they’d get it. Which I know now means I wouldn’t have written it well enough to be understandable. I was at one of those soft points where I didn’t want critique because I didn’t want to lose the excitement for the story, and I just didn’t want anyone to say it was bad. I was scared of what people thought. It was a really different kind of fear from what I experienced as a kid, because as a kid fear came from vague creepiness and not knowing what things did or how they worked. I knew--or at least thought I knew--what would happen if someone read my work.

But then I decided I wanted to get published, and I realized that wouldn’t work. You can’t be a published author and be scared of critique and criticism. Critique is absolutely necessary to become a better writer, and criticism is unavoidable when your work is available to the world.

The fear wasn’t going to go away like the childhood fears. I had to whip myself into shape by doing the very thing that scared me. I found critique partners. I put myself out there. I got better.

Now I’m not scared of anything (except clowns). I don’t have nightmares (except about clowns). And if someone wants to read my stories and critique or criticize them, that’s cool with me.

(Unless those people are clowns.)
(Just kidding--clowns can read my books, too.)
(But really, clowns are terrifying.)
Fears are a great thing to talk about. I used to think that I was scared of everything. Now, I know I'm scared of most but not all things. For example: heights, injections, surgery, pain, insects, spiders and being forgotten. I'm insane, I know. Like, how do I even leave the house, right?

Enter the giveaway below! 
Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen 
Want more fun? Check out the other authors featured here.

Francesca's Goodreads | Twitter | Tumblr | Website

YA writer represented by Louise Fury of the Bent Agency. My debut, MADE YOU UP, will be out from Greenwillow/HarperCollins on May 19th, 2015. I like writing, reading, drawing, anime, playing way too much Pokemon, and other things.

This giveaway will be a RT giveaway that can be found here. 

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3xA MA: Anna Banks

 

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.

Anna Banks is the author of a bunch of crazy awesome books! Her newest, Joyride will be coming out soon. And here today, she's got 10 [crazy!] facts about teenage her. WHOA!

1) I skipped school a lot. Every Monday, in fact. My teachers got used to the routine, so they’d just have my makeup work ready for me to take home and complete on Tuesdays. I just couldn’t bring myself to go to school that first day after the weekend. Plus, I didn’t like rules. I guess it works out that I’m a writer now, so if I want to do nothing on Mondays, I can!

2) My dad died when I was 14. This changed me a lot. I became withdrawn, didn’t want to hang out with my friends anymore, and I started to write stories to escape from my depression. This is where I began my love for writing.

3) I stole a car when I was 12. Yep, seriously. My friend and I drove it across 3 state lines, all the way into New Orleans. Then we decided that New Orleans was a tad too scary for us, so we headed home, crashed the car, and got arrested. They put us in jail cells and fed us cornflakes while our parents made the trip to get us somewhere in the armpit of Mississippi. That experience is, in part, how I came up with JOYRIDE, my novel releasing in June this year.

4) I was a prankster. I love scaring people but jumping out of a hiding place and screaming them. My goal was always to make someone wet themselves. Never happened. I still scare people today, whether it be random shoppers in the grocery store, my family, or unsuspecting pedestrians that I beep at. I also love bumping into people wearing camouflage and saying, “Excuse me, I didn’t see you there.” Most of the time they don’t get it though.

5) I was a straight A student. Despite skipping school, stealing cars and being a delinquent in general, I still managed to pull good grades out of my magic hat. In middle school I was teacher’s pet. In high school…Not so much. They seemed a little irritated that I could miss so much of their class and still make an A in it. Heh.

6) I was a serial dater. Like, I had one boyfriend one week and the next another. It was always just puppy love or whatever, never serious relationships or getting too physical with them. It was holding hands and writing each other notes and walking to class with them. Now I look back and think, “Wow, simmer down, teenage me.”

7) I once convinced the head cheerleader I was a witch and had cast a spell on her. I was sent to the office at school where I denied the entire thing, but they made me take regular sessions with a guidance counselor, which was fun, because it got me out of class a lot. I’d always try to find something in depth to talk about so I could skip geography entirely.

8) I was a waitress when I was 17 at a restaurant called PoFolks, another experience that helped shape JOYRIDE into what it is. Part of our job was enhancing the southern atmosphere of the place, so we greeted tables by saying “Howdy, y’all!” I’ve said y’all ever since. *cringes*

9) As a waitress, I once poured a bowl of hot chicken and dumplings in a customer’s lap for being disrespectful to me. I told the manager it was an accept, but the customer and I knew what was up. Heh.

10) I was 13 when I got my first kiss. Now I know that I was too young for a first kiss at that age, but it was still amazing

Anna's life sounds like a YA novel. Somebody make this happen! The serial dating one made me laugh so hard because Blank Space.

Enter the giveaway below! 
Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen 
Want more fun? Check out the other authors featured here.

Anna's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

New York Times Bestselling author of The Syrena Legacy series.

Grew up in a town called Niceville. No, seriously. I graduated from Niceville High School. So did J Lo's second husband. And the guy that plays Aqua Man on Smallville dated my best friend.

Now I indulge my tendency to lie by writing the lies down and selling them to publishers. Well actually my agent sells it, so she's an accomplice to lies. One of my lies is called OF POSEIDON. The sequel is called OF TRITON. The last and final installment is OF NEPTUNE, and it released May 13, 2014. Be on the lookout for JOYRIDE, my YA Contemporary out June 2, 2015--Bonnie & Clyde meets Latina Pretty in Pink!

And um. I also write adult fiction under pen name Anna Scarlett. One of the adult lies is DEGREES OF WRONG.

That is all.

WHOO! Thanks so much, Anna :)
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3xA MA: Jeanne Ryan

 

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.

Since many die-hard readers are also avid writers, I thought I’d post about a super power you guys might not have realized you possess.

Most aspiring writers spend a fair amount of time in the “trenches” waiting upon critique partners, agents, editors, reviewers, you name it, there’s always something. During that seemingly endless limbo of being pre-published, it’s frustrating to think that the fruit of your creativity is being held hostage until a gatekeeper declares it *publishable*.

Well, I’m here to remind you that that doesn’t have to be the case. Who says you have to wait for a short story, book, or article to be published before connecting with readers and making an impact? If writing is the thing you do best, your super power if you will, then go forth and wield it for good. Opportunities to sling those words abound in a multitude of forms. Maybe one of these will speak to your power:

· Editorial letters on issues you’d love to see addressed (Bike lanes? School reform? Immigration laws?).
· Fundraising/grant-writing for schools and other worthy organizations.
· Heartfelt notes sent to celebrate good tidings or sympathize a loss.
· Online kudos for your favorite restaurants and other businesses (or books!).
· Comments on petitions, or maybe an entirely new petition.
· And, of course, blog posts!

See what I mean? Endless possibilities.

And while you’re drafting those pretty sentences, consider this: If you’re writing for publication, you’ve no doubt learned a few things about evoking emotion in readers. So why not evoke emotion in real life, where it can immediately touch another human being? You have the chance to reach people in meaningful ways much more personally than through mass-produced greeting cards.

So, the next time you’re consumed with waiting, unsheathe your pen and figure out a way to bolster the people you hold dear. Take the time to include a note in the next birthday card; jot a few lines to explain why you’re thankful for someone; compose a “gift” essay for the person who has everything. The recipient of your words will feel better and chances are you will too, because *doing* usually beats *waiting* hands-down.


How's this for a fun, motivational post? YAY! I consider myself to be a writer and I love the iea of doing things while you wait. It makes waiting less... scary.

Enter the giveaway below! 
Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen 
Want more fun? Check out the other authors featured here.

Jeanne's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

I’ve lived all over the world, raised in a family with eleven brothers and sisters. I spent my early childhood in Hawaii and the rest of my growing-up years trying to figure out a way to get back there, with stops in South Korea, Michigan and Germany along the way. Before writing fiction, I tried my hand at many things, including war game simulation and youth development research. But I decided it was much more fun to work on stories than statistics. 

These days, I still love Hawaii, but have found my home under the moody skies of the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks so much, Jeanne! Hope you guys love it!!!
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3xA MA: Jennifer Niven

 

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.

I have a love for books that shatter my soul with beautiful words and touching plots. So when I heard about All The Bright Places, I jumped! It sounded so perfect for me, so it's no surprise I had to ask Jennifer to appear on my blog and I'm so excited!

In All the Bright Places, Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of their high school bell tower. He’s the school freak, she’s popular and well liked. Naturally everyone thinks she saved him from jumping, but the reality is that they were both up there contemplating death—Violet because she’s grieving over the death of her sister Eleanor, nine months earlier, and Finch because contemplating death is what he does.

I needed an organic way to bring these two together off that bell tower ledge, especially because I knew the withdrawn Violet would want nothing to do with the unpredictable, volatile Finch. So I gave them a school assignment: to wander their home state of Indiana. When the teacher announces that they’ll be doing this in pairs, Finch ambushes Violet into being his partner.

Now, I grew up in Indiana, where—as far as I was concerned—nothing interesting ever happened. My town was comprised of many, many cornfields and not much else. When my parents moved us there my fourth grade year, I believed it was a torture akin to, say, moving to Mars, and at first sight, I thought Indiana was the ugliest place I had ever seen. “Just remember,” my mother told me, “what is ugly to you is beautiful to some people.” As we crossed the state line from Ohio into Indiana, I looked out the window at cornfield after cornfield. At one point, there was an actual tractor driving down the road. A tractor! And I thought how wrong my mother was. I couldn’t imagine anyone thinking Indiana was beautiful.

Like Violet, I grew up counting the days till high school graduation, which signified my escape from the Midwest.

In All the Bright Places, Finch takes immediate charge of the Wander Indiana geography project. It’s his idea that he and Violet see “the grand, the small, the bizarre, the poetic, the beautiful, the ugly, the surprising. But absolutely, unconditionally, resolutely nothing ordinary.” It’s also his idea that they leave something behind, a kind of offering.

While I was plotting the book, I made a list of unusual places—some I’d been to when I was living there, others I discovered in my research. The stranger the places were, the better. I have a giant gas station map of Indiana, which I pinned to my wall, and on this I mapped out all the possible sites Finch and Violet could visit. Only one spot is made up—the Bookmobile Park. All the others are real.

The only one I knew I would include was Hoosier Hill, the highest spot in Indiana. This is located only a few miles from the town where I grew up, and it’s pretty legendary. It’s 1,257 feet above sea level and resembles a pitcher’s mound. When I was Violet’s age, I laughed about it—my roots are, after all, in the North Carolina mountains— but something happened when I started writing the scene between Finch and Violet at Hoosier Hill. I began seeing things in a new way.

As they stand atop the high point, Violet looks out at the dirt and the corn and that’s all she sees. But Finch sees beyond those things. He sees Violet standing next to him and feels her hand in his. He sees hope and promise. Someone who could become a friend, maybe more. Someone who isn’t telling him he’s worthless. Someone who makes him feel as if he might actually matter after all. Standing next to her, Hoosier Hill feels as high as Everest, and Finch is on top of the world.

With each place they wander—whether it’s the local Purina Tower, the Blue Hole, or the Before I Die art installation—Violet gradually begins to see Indiana through the eyes of Finch. She recognizes there’s wonder in the little things, the little moments, the quiet, unassuming places. And she recognizes there’s wonder in him, this person she thought she knew but didn’t. Until now.

So Finch not only shows Violet that Indiana can be beautiful, he shows her it is full of bright places. He showed me as well. All these years after high school graduation, both my parents are gone. I’m an only child, and I don’t have any family left in Indiana. But when I go back there, I see them in this place and that one. They are everywhere, and it’s amazing.

Maybe my favorite location that Finch and Violet visit is the Blue Flash backyard rollercoaster. John Ivers is a retired farmer who invented the coaster because he loved the rush of going fast and “impending, weightless doom,” a line I quote in the book. His wife, Sharon, told me that “being a bright place has been for us touching the hearts of others and reminding them that in this time of hard things it is important to take time and have some fun.”

This is exactly what Finch and Violet did on their journey, and what Finch taught Violet as she learns to live again. I’ll always be grateful to Finch for reminding me that sometimes we need to look deeper at a place and at the people around us in order to truly see them.

(Note: In April, my book tour takes me to Indiana, and I’ll be reconstructing that journey myself with photos, video, and a post or two!)



I love authors who use their hometown in their books! It's one thing to describe a place based off pictures from an extensive google search and a whole thing entirely to go to the place and experience what the characters feel [especially if you've lived there for quite some time!]

Enter the giveaway below! 
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By the time I was ten, I had already written numerous songs, a poem for Parker Stevenson ("If there were a Miss America for men, You would surely win"), two autobiographies (All About Me and My Life in Indiana: I Will Never Be Happy Again), a Christmas story, several picture books (which I illustrated myself) featuring the Doodle Bugs from Outer Space, a play about Laura Ingalls Wilder's sister entitled Blindness Strikes Mary, a series of prison mysteries, a collection of short stories featuring me as the main character (an internationally famous rock star detective), and a partially finished novel about Vietnam. I was also an excellent speller from a very early age.
In 2000, I started writing full-time, and I haven't stopped... I've written eight books, and when I'm not working on the ninth, I'm contributing to my web magazine, Germ, thinking up new books, and dabbling in TV. I am always writing.

This is an amazing giveaway that you don't want to miss. I'm so jealous of the winner because I can't enter! Thank you SO MUCH, Jennifer for this fantastic giveaway.
And to the entrants, good luck <3

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