GUEST POST: Author Julia London

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Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf I would like to introduce you to author Julia London. She is the author of the newly released book One Season of Sunshine.
Thank you so much for having me here today.  I am thrilled to share ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE with you and your followers.   
People often ask me where I get my inspiration.  Probably some of it comes from educational TV.  Currently, my favorite show, WIPEOUT, which, on the surface may appear like a very juvenile show, but to the writer, it demonstrates that some humans are willing to try anything.  I like to think I take that notion into my writing—my characters should be willing to try anything.  
I get inspiration from movies, too.  Sex and the City 2 taught me that there is a fine line between interesting sexuality in fiction and Samantha’s never-ending quest for meaningless sex.  I mean, ugh.  Seriously.
When I run in the mornings, I wear a little shuffle iPod full of inspiring songs…songs that inspire me to think about bad relationships that make people angry. I don’t know why, but it seems like most of the songs that have a beat I can run to are total downers.  Carrie Underwood wants to kick ass, Pearl Jam’s heart is always broken, and Nickleback doesn’t get along that well with women.  As a writer, I get the idea that if I want to sell books, I should really steer toward the more uplifting ending, or people will be running away from my books.  
But I get my best inspiration from reading.  I read across a broad spectrum and I find that when I am reading, the really good ideas start to flow.  It is an organic process that I cannot explain.  I just know that words flow in and words flow out. The inspiration for ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE came from an article about a woman who had come to Texas to just be here.  She had been given up for adoption at birth, and the only thing she knew was that she was from Texas.  I found it remarkable that a person would want to know her beginnings so badly that she would cling to something so vague.  The idea took root and grew from there.  It was definitely the words seeping into my brain that sparked the idea for the book. 
I hope you will find the idea behind ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE intriguing. I invite you to visit my website, http://www.julialondon.com, to read an excerpt, to see a video, and to learn more about me and more of my juvenile viewing habits. 

Design a Bookmark at Border’s

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bookmark-contest
Borders is the official book retailer for the 10th Annual National Book Festival. To celebrate, the retailer is teaming with the Library of Congress to encourage kids to design the National Book Festival’s Official Bookmark — the first ever designed by a member of the public. In addition to having his or her design displayed on the National Book Festival Official Bookmark to be distributed to tens of thousands who attend the event, the winner will receive a $500 Borders gift card and another $500 Borders gift card for their school library.
Kids have until the end of the month to submit their entries in the national “Design a Bookmark” contest. To enter, kids can download an official entry form here, design their bookmark image right on the page, and turn the form into their local Borders store. Two winners from each store will be awarded a $25 gift card and advance to the state competition. Then, two winning entries from each state will advance to the national competition, where one grand prize winner will be selected. In addition to a grand prize winner, there will be a second and third place winner, who will each receive two $250 gift cards and two $100 gift cards, respectively.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Anastasia Hopcus

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Today is release day for Shadow Hills!! YAY! I have been waiting forever to read this! HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!! So let’s celebrate with an author interview! Anastasia was kind enough to agree to an interview so let’s get started!
To start off, welcome and can you tell the readers a little about yourself? 

 
I’m from Austin, Texas, but I also lived for a couple of years in LA.  I love music and TV shows on DVD.  I love horror movies and cemeteries, but I hate haunted houses. I always liked to play dress up when I was little, and since my birthday (October 22nd) was right before Halloween, my birthday parties were usually in costume. 
 
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming or latest release? 
   
My upcoming novel is Shadow Hills.  It’s actually my debut novel. 🙂  It’s a YA mystery with a paranormal twist.  My main character, Phe, has been having cryptic dreams, much like the ones her sister had before she died a year ago.  Phe decides to attend Devenish Prep, the boarding school that her sister mentioned in her last diary entry.  There Phe is drawn to the mysterious and handsome Zach Redford, but he is hiding secrets of his own. 
 
I am a fly on your wall.  What would I report back to my master of your daily schedule?
 
I get up and spend several hours waking up.  Part of that process includes making coffee with my Chemex coffeemaker, which takes a good thirty minutes, at least.  I check my emails and my twitter.  Then I’ll usually sit down and work for awhile.  I finally have a house with an office, but I often find myself working from my living room on my couch, anyway.  I’ll eventually scrounge up something to eat, usually a microwave dinner of some sort.  Then I’ll write for a few more hours until my boyfriend gets off work, and then we’ll usually watch something on DVD.  If it’s a weekend, we’ll do something a tad more exciting, like going to a movie at Alamo Drafthouse, where you can have dinner and drinks while watching the newest releases.  Or, if I’m really lucky, one of my favorite bands will be in town, and we’ll go see a show.  
 
When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors, that are must reads? 
  
I love to read YA, but unfortunately I don’t get to read as much as I’d like.  A few of the books I’ve really enjoyed recently have been Shade, Beautiful Creatures, Shiver, Shadowed Summer, and The Body Finder.
What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book? 
  
I like to have a notebook, index cards, and different colored pens to jot down and keep different plot lines organized.
Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?  Twitter? 
 

Yes, I have lots of ways to keep up with me:  www.anastasiahopcus.com; my Twitter is http://twitter.com/anastasiahopcus; my blog is at www.hopcusblog.com.


Now for some fun stuff:

1. What came first–the chicken or the egg? the egg
2. Edward Cullen or Jacob Black?  Edward Cullen
3. Quick showers or Long Baths?  quick showers
4. Sunrise or Sunset? sunset

Favorite perfume: Armani She
Favorite TV show: Vampire Diaries
Favorite Movie: I have too many favorite movies to pick just one, but Garden State, Adventureland, and Sherlock Holmes are front runners.
Favorite Drink:  coffee
Favorite Dessert: All of them—I love sweets.

Thanks for joining us on My Overstuffed Bookshelf!!

Winners!

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The contest for the 2 copies of To Conquer A Highlander has now ended. The winners are:
and

I will be emailing you and you will have 48 hours to respond and claim your prize! Thanks to everyone who entered! 

In Celebration…

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Monday, July 12 is the anniversary of Henry David Thoreau’s birthday – he would have been 193-years-old!

Henry David Thoreau quote “Words do not lose their truth by time or misinterpretation, but stand unscathed longer than he who spoke them.”