BREAKING NEWS

PEOPLE! We've got some super-exciting, breaking news to share. We hope you'll join us in screaming like a fan-girl and putting the gif lady above to shame.

Another one of our Oasis Sisters is about to realize her dream of being a published YA author.  Congratulations to A.E. Rought, whose novel, BROKEN, will be published next year by Strange Chemistry.  Here's the official news snippet:

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of another wonderful author. A. E. Rought has been signed to Strange Chemistry in a two book deal with worldwide English rights negotiated between Amanda Rutter and Gina Panettieri, of the Talcott Notch Literary Agency.
The first of these two books will be called Broken and will be published by Strange Chemistry in early 2013.
About BROKEN:
Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where a young couple's undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all. A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.
When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.
The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

AE said: “When my agent told me Strange Chemistry was interested, I think I squealed out loud. Angry Robot has an amazing reputation, and to be welcomed into their YA imprint? Bliss. Nerdvana. I'm absolutely thrilled to be with Strange Chemistry and working with Amanda.”

Amanda Rutter says: “As soon as I received the email from Gina detailing the premise of Broken, I knew that I had to read this book. I was thrilled to discover that the writing was just as good as promised and I have no doubt Broken will prove to be a massive hit!”


We can't wait to share all the coming excitement with you, and like we did with J.A., we hope to be part of the big cover reveal when that time comes.  In the meantime, please give A.E. a big virtual ((HUG)) and help us spread the news.  (You can even toss some confetti if you want. Just be sure to clean up your office when you're done so your boss doesn't know you were reading blogs at work again...)

TBR Tuesday:

 I chose this one, because who doesn't love the Robin Hood story?  I just couldn't resist a modern day retelling of it. 

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”—known to everyone as the Glitterati—without them suspecting a thing is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her: evening the social playing field between the haves and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of thefts at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could Aidan wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

WHOSEYWHATSIT THURSDAY: Writing Prompt

borrowed from http://fotolympus.deviantart.com/

 

 

 

 

 

I'm between WIPs right now, waiting on news, researching to keep my mind busy... And on my ceaseless trolls of the Internet, I found this picture. I love the blues, the streaks in the sky and the way they echo the waves in the foreground, and the mysterious ship. So, I decided to make this week's Whoseywhatsit Thursday, a no more than 250 word writing prompt. If you play along, make sure to hit all the senses. Make us see, smell, hear, heck, maybe even taste what this picture makes you see. I'll take a wild stab at it:

Ship's log, 25th May.
We're stranded here, the shore in the distance, out of reach and mocking me. The salty air sits in my nose, parches my skin. Father had promised so much when he dragged me on board this ship--I know now those promises were hollow. How can he make good on the sunlit beaches, the sweet fresh fruit, the girl he said was waiting, when he's lying on his rack coughing blood? The mutinous crew took everything, even siphoned the fuel and then beat my father, the captain, near to death.
"Thomas," he rasps, a dry rattle knocking around in his chest, "water..."
"Of course, Father." My parched lips crack. Iron tickles my sinuses, red smears my sleeve when I drag it over my chin.
I dip the tin cup into the bucket, scraping the bottom to get the last drops--our last drops. Maybe it will rain tonight, the clouds look ready to weep. My hand shakes, the precious water splashing in the cup, but I won't spill.
A sick smell comes from his mouth, pushed out by a groan when I tilt his head. I touch his chin, let him know the cup is coming. Blood shines in the split skin of his lips when he sucks the water down. Then a wracking spasm of coughs grip him, and the water is lost in the mix of blood and spittle flying to stain his cheeks and bed clothes.
"Leave me," Father commands. He's so weak he can't even roll to the side to spit. How can I leave him? Would I want to die alone? No. I will stay with him these last moments, I vow. Father flails a limp, broken hand at me, his words hardly a whisper when he says, "Leave me."
"I can't, poppa. I can't."
Father eyes sag, matching his sunken cheeks. He has no strength left, still he lifts that shattered hand and places it on my cheek. His skin is cold. White clouds his eyes. "Love you, son."
"Love you, too."
One last breath escapes him, his chest sinks, and outside rain begins to fall.
I wish it would fall in here, and take the place of the tears my body can't produce.