GIVEAWAY! 20 Questions with Xakara and win GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST (ebook!)

"Xakara....Fiction With An X-Factor"

Xakara is a new transplant to beautiful New Mexico. She lives overlooking the Sandia mountains with her long time sweetie and a handful of friends that are like family. Never found anywhere without a book to read or a notebook to write in; she knew she'd be an author at nine years old when someone missed one of the daily installments of the stories she told on the playground and told her to write them down.

Equally splitting her time between the world in her head and the world around her, she manages to find her way through life with a smile and zen-vibe that carries her and her heroines through the tough times. She smiles every time she tells someone she knows that she writes erotic urban fantasies and they reply "I always knew you would".

Becoming a paranormal romance author was a happy accident when she chose to write a short novella to clear her mind of edits on her first urban fantasy novel, BLOODSPRITE. Now she finds she enjoys the focus on the relationships and loves traversing the two genres, and finding new ways to define both.

She always loves to talk to fans and new friends and is happy to receive emails from new readers and new friends alike. You can contact her at Xakara@Xakara.com

More info on Xakara

Xakara.com

A WAY TO A DRAGON'S HEART Coming Soon, Liquid Silver Books

DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT (PsiCorps #2) Coming Soon, Liquid Silver Books

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST (PsiCorps #1) available NOW

Liquid Silver Books

SHIFTING PASSIONS available NOW
Samhain Publishing

20 Questions

Thanks so much for hosting me! I loved answering the questions and hope it gives a little insight into what makes me, me. *smile*

1.      Bookmarks or dog ears?

 Bookmarks, definitely!

2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

 Off, I like to keep them looking nice.

3.      Favorite author?

 Stephen King since I was nine, but I’ve developed quite the crush on Jim Butcher as of late.

4.      Favorite genre?

 Paranormal fiction, whether it’s urban fantasy or paranormal romance, but I have deep affection for sci-fi/fantasy as well.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?

 Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth.

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

I prefer books becoming television series, but since it was already canceled as a series under the title Blood Ties, I’d love to see the Blood Books by Tanya Huff made into movies: Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact, and Blood Debt. I have the deep need to see Kyle Schmid as a vampire again!

7.      E books:  Friend or foe?

A dearest boon companion that shall forever remain in my affections.

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?

 The Stand by Stephen King and Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton. Work that out amongst yourselves.

9.      What are you reading right now?

 I just finished Null Void by Adrian Drake and I’ll be starting Hit List by Laurell K Hamilton when it drops on Tuesday June 7th.

10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?

 I’ve never bought a book for the cover. I’ve seen some gorgeous covers, but if the back cover copy and first page don’t do it for me, I walk away.

11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?

 I received my Kindle 3 in the mail, does that count? If not, then The Supernatural RPG last year.

12.     What is the number of books you own?

You’re kidding, right?

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?

 A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony. Yeah, I was THAT kid.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?

 The philosophy building courtyard at USC or anyplace comfortable.

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?

 I have two contracted releases from Liquid Silver Books coming up. DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT (PsiCorps Volume Two) will be released for the 4^th of July and A WAY TO A DRAGON’S HEART (A Therian World Novel) will release in October. I’m delighted to have the second installments in my PsiCorps and Therian worlds coming out this year, hopefully with more to follow.

16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?

 The philosophy building courtyard at USC or anyplace comfortable.

17.     Do you have any pets ?

 No, but we do have a neighborhood cat that we feed regularly, just because he’s so cute.

18.    How does your garden grow?

 In pots on the front porch because I live in a drought state and container gardening is eco-friendly with fewer water requirements.

 19.  The last thing you Googled?

Kyle Schmid just a moment ago to make sure I spelled his last name correctly.

20.     What makes you cringe?

 Seeing other people fall or otherwise get hurt. I can’t stand it and I find no humor in it when it’s used for laughs.

WANT TO WIN GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST E BOOK FROM XAKARA?
Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old with an EMAIL address and ends 6.13.11
Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 6.14.11
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
This giveaway is sponsored by XAKARA
Complete the form below!
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20 QUESTIONS WITH: Wendy Wax, author of Ten Beach Road

20 Questions with Wendy Wax, author of Ten Beach Road

About the Author

Wendy Wax is the author of eight previous novels. A former broadcaster, she lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her husband and two teenage sons, who have turned her into the shortest member of the family. 

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WENDY -- Thanks so much for stopping by BookHounds!

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1. Bookmarks or dog ears?
Totally dog-eared; I never have a bookmark—not even one of my own—when I need it.

2. Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
Off!
 
3. Favorite author?
Mary, this is way too hard a question; kind of like picking only one favorite food. Or restaurant. Or vacation spot. I’m just not up to the task!
 

4. Favorite genre’?
I’d probably have to say ‘women’s fiction’ although that’s a pretty huge umbrella. Will you forgive me if I say, ‘see above?” 

5. What is the best book you have read in the last year?
Again, it would be difficult to choose just one; there are so many great reads and authors out there. But since I copped out on the previous questions, I will say that although I’ve enjoyed a lot of wonderful books in the last year, One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus probably stayed with me the longest. 
 

6. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Am I allowed to say The Accidental Bestseller? There’s been a good bit of movie interest and my fingers are cramped from crossing them so hard!

7. E books: Friend or foe?
Friend. Although I’m sorry they’ve made things so difficult for brick and mortar bookstores, I can’t help feeling that an additional format is a good thing. 
 

8. Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Again, not to try to wiggle out of this, but I think it’s more a result of how may books I’ve loved and the experiences they provided than any one book that set me on this path. My goal is to give to others the gift of ‘escape’ that I so enjoy.

9. What are you reading right now?
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It’s wonderful!

10. What is the last book you bought just for the cover?
I can honestly say I don’t do this. As an author I’m hyper sensitive to the fact that the cover often has less to do with what’s inside than we’d like to think and is many times not exactly what the author might have chosen.

I am, however, drawn to titles even though we often don’t have complete control over those, either. I bought Angry Housewives Eating BonBons by Lorna Ludvick because I was so intrigued by the title.
I also sometimes have ‘title envy.’ I felt this for Carol Snow’s Here Today, Gone to Maui. My own favorite title was an early romantic comedy I wrote titled, Leave It to Cleavage.

11. What is the last book you received in the mail?
The FBI Career Guide by Joseph W. Koletar. I’m not applying, just researching!

12. What is the number of books you own?
I’m not good at math and I’m afraid I can’t count that high. I’m going to have to go with ‘a lot!’

13. What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
I’m pretty sure it was a ‘Mrs. Piggly Wiggly’ book. Maybe Mrs. Piggly Wiggly and the ‘I thought you saiders?’ (This title has stuck in my head for so long that I’m not sure it’s completely correct.)

14. Do you have a favorite place to read?
I don’t have a favorite spot, but I do like to read lying down. (Which can make working a bit tricky.) At the moment I’m trying to lie down to read as far away from the refrigerator as possible, because reading and eating have been inextricably tied together for me since childhood. I’m really trying to break this habit, but so far it’s just slowed me down; it takes a lot longer to get to the refrigerator and back now!

15. What is next for you, publishing-wise?
Ten Beach Road, a story about three women who lose almost everything in a Ponzi scheme and are left with only co-ownership in a derelict beachfront mansion was released on May 3rd. I just started writing a book tentatively titled, Reality Check—about two estranged best friends. It’s due out in June 2012. 

16. Do you have a favorite place to write?
I prefer my office with the door closed and in complete quiet. But as long as there’s a window to look out of while I work, I’m okay. 
 

17. Do you have any pets ?
No, just a husband and two sons—none of whom are as well-trained as they might be.

18. How does your garden grow?
I live in Atlanta where the seasons, especially spring, are glorious. But most of the things that come back every year were put in long before we moved into our house. As much as I love fresh flowers, my approach to gardening is a bit Darwinian--only the strong survive! 

19. The last thing you Googled?
Atlanta zip codes
 

20. What makes you cringe?
I’m having a hard time getting used to the lack of punctuation and capitalization in emails and texts. I’m the slowest texter in the world because I just can’t bear to leave that stuff out. Oh—and people who talk on their cell phones at the top of their lungs in public. There are a lot of things strangers shouldn’t be forced to listen to.

Don't forget to pre order your copy today! Or you can enter to win my copy and read my review ....HERE 

Oh and just to shame Wendy about the bookmarks....I have really nice one to go along with the book I am giving away.  :)

20 QUESTIONS WITH: Cara Chow, author of Bitter Melon

CARA CHOW and 20 Questions

 About the Author

Cara Chow was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the Richmond district of San Francisco, where Bitter Melon is set.  She attended an all girls' Catholic high school, competed in speech, and had an encouraging speech coach, which served in part as the inspiration for her novel.  She was a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow in 2001. In addition to writing, Cara also teaches Pilates. She currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and son. Bitter Melon is her first novel.

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I would like to thank Cara for stopping by my blog today!  I adored this book and it is should be a must read for everyone.

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1.      Bookmarks or dog ears?

Neither.  I use Post It tabs.  They work so much better.

2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

On.  I like pictures, so if I’m not reading a picture book, then the cover art is the only picture I get to look at.  Besides, if I lose my Post It, I can always use the jacket flap as a bookmark.

3.      Favorite author?

I don’t have a favorite author.  I love many authors.  Instead, I’ll list some favorite novels not mentioned elsewhere in this interview: Tenderness and Heroes by Robert Cormier, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

4.      Favorite genre?

In the fiction category, I tend to like literary fiction, but it has to have a good plot and good pacing.  For non-fiction, my taste is very eclectic: geography, anthropology, neuroscience, sociology, linguistics, history, cookbooks, and gardening books.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  Especially fun to read as I tended my own garden, composted, and ate the food I grew.  As I read about her challenges living off the land in Appalachia, I learned to appreciate how lucky I am to live in Southern California!

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

Bitter Melon!  Not now, but maybe a few years down the line.

7.      E books:  Friend or foe?

Hey, if it gets more people to read, why not?

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. 

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.

9.      What are you reading right now?

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff, which, like Bitter Melon, was published by Egmont USA.  I just attended Allen’s book launch party, and now I am enjoying my own autographed copy.

10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.  And the book lived up to the gorgeousness of the cover.

11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.  Since everyone’s been comparing my book to Chua’s because both feature Tiger Moms, I figured I ought to read her book and compare it to her WSJ article, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.”

12.     What is the number of books you own?

I honestly don’t know.  In addition to the books crammed into my shelf, which takes up a whole wall, I have numerous other books stuffed in boxes in my garage because I don’t have enough room in my little house.

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?

I don’t really remember, but it was probably Snow White and Rose Red.  We borrowed it from the local library. 

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?

On my Ekornes recliner in my home office, which is next to the desk where I write. 

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?

A second YA novel with the same publisher.  As for what the novel will be about . . . that’s a secret, so big a secret that even I don’t yet know!

16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?

The desk referred to in question #14.  It faces my backyard, so I can watch the pond, plants, birds, and squirrels when I need to take a break.

17.     Do you have any pets ?

We have five giant koi fish and several goldfish in our backyard pond.  But they don’t feel like pets.  They don’t let you pet them, and they don’t run up to you and lick your face when you call their names.  To compensate for this, I take long walks in my neighborhood and along the beach and pet other people’s dogs.

18.    How does your garden grow?

Quite abundantly.  It may have more to do with our climate (warm and sunny all year round) and soil (clay teeming with earthworms) than our gardening skill.  We get roses every spring; tomatoes, strawberries, and basil every summer; carrots every winter; and lettuce all year round.

 19.  The last thing you Googled?

Loma Prieta earthquake.  I was fact checking for another blog post.

20.     What makes you cringe?

        N/A

Product Description

Frances, a Chinese-American student at an academically competitive school in San Francisco, has always had it drilled into her to be obedient to her mother and to be a straight-A student so that she can go to Med school.  But is being a doctor what she wants?  It has never even occurred to Frances to question her own feelings and desires until she accidentally winds up in speech class and finds herself with a hidden talent.  Does she dare to challenge the mother who has sacrificed everything for her?  Set in the 1980s.

Be sure to stop by Cara Chow's site HERE

20 QUESTIONS WITH: Stacy Morrison, author of Falling Apart in One Piece

20 Questions with the author of Falling Apart in One Piece
Stacy Morrison

1.      Bookmarks or dog ears?

Dog ears of all different sizes: big means I'm marking the page; small means I'm marking a passage I want to be able to return to. But every once in awhile I read a book I don't want to mar, and I'll use an old concert ticket for the bookmark; it doubles my pleasure.

2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

On! I use it as a bookmark quite often. Doesn't everybody?

3.      Favorite author?

My favorite authors--the authors I collect and read and re-read--are poets: Rainer Maria Rilke, Rumi, Khalil Gilbran, Jane Kenyon. But I absolutely love being amazed by new discoveries and old favorites in fiction and non-fiction on a regular basis.

4.      Favorite genre'?

I'm an omnivore: I like it all.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?

I was blown away by Great House by Nicole Krauss. It was beautiful, moving, poignant, smart, and the structure was just perfection, leaping easily between time periods and yet somehow keeping the book's fantastic secret until the last pages.

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

My book, of course! But truly, I don't tend to see movies of books I've loved; I hate to have my deeply personal and intimate experience interrupted by other people's visions.

7.      E books: Friend or foe?

I'm a new fan. I dreaded carrying around Johnathan Franzen's sizable Freedom, so it made perfect sense to make it my first book to read on the iPad. And I find the experience of reading electronically to be totally engrossing in a different, but just as powerful, way. The evening I bought Freedom, I was up until 1:30am with the book!

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?

Oh, everything inspires me to write. Living inspires me to write. Meeting and talking with people about how we manage the gifts and burdens of consciousness is what inspires me the most.

9.      What are you reading right now?

"Flow," a completely engrossing and brilliant nonfiction book all about the elusive, yet totally quotidian, experience of finding yourself in harmony with your mind's attention, whether in a creative pursuit like writing or just walking through the forest. I can't believe I haven't read this book yet! It's almost 10 years old! How did i miss it?

10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?

Penguin Books has this wonderful little series called "Great Ideas," small, fine ivory books with letterpressed covers that repackage some of history's most influential writings. Each cover is totally different, representative of the art or design of its era, and I grazed for about 40 minutes before settling on Michel De Montaigne's "On Friendship" and  I know, it sounds so terribly geeky, but the books are fantastic.

11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?

Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter." My boyfriend bought it for me because both my parents died quite suddenly last year, and so my brothers and I have been doing family research as we've learned new things about our parents' family histories. My mother was born in a small coal town in West Virginia, the daughter of a coal miner, war hero and later, federal mine inspector, so he thought I'd appreciate hearing a first-hand account of life in the "hollers." And he's right! I do appreciate it!

12.     What is the number of books you own?

I try to shed, give away and pawn off dozens a year to keep the piles in order, but books follow me home. So somewhere around 400 maybe? I also try not to count.

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?

An amazing book called "Repetto's Toy Store," that had paper-and-popsicle-stick "puppets" you moved from page to page as the story unfolded: a cat, a clown, Red Riding Hood and a brown bear, and one other that's lost to memory. My brothers and I read that book until it fell all to pieces, and we just rediscovered it in our parents' attic. Oh joy! We couldn't believe it, and all of us were instantly thrown back to being five years old.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?

In bed, of course. And I really like reading on the subway, too.

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?

I have a few ideas I'm working on at the moment. It still feels too risky to suggest I might write another, lest the gods of ego shoot me down for assuming that would be my luck. Right now I'm pretty absorbed in turning my book website, www.fallingapartinonepiece.com, into a community and am writing a lot of new content for that. So many people wanted to talk with me about resilience after Falling Apart came out, and I wanted to share all those conversations. They were so heartening and wonderful; none of us is in this life journey alone, and company provides good comfort. That's just one of the reasons people get so much out of books.

16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?

I write at the Brooklyn Writers' Space in my neighborhood (thanks Scott Adkins and Erin Courteney!). I find that sitting in a little cubby in a quiet room is really the best way to make me step away from the internet and get busy inside my head.

17.     Do you have any pets ?

A beautiful cat named Sidney, who was the gift-with-purchase when my boyfriend moved in with my son and me about a year ago.

18.    How does your garden grow?

I am the daughter of two avid gardeners, but I live in New York City. But some of the first words my son learned in his first year of speaking were "forsythia," "lilacs," "hydrangea," "tulips," "hosta" and "geraniums," all the flowers we would pass on our walks to the park. And when I owned a house with a real backyard for a brief time (the cursed house that was falling apart as my life was falling apart, all documented in my book), I grew six different kinds of heirloom tomatoes. Heaven! (The dark purple Cherokee is my absolute favorite, musky and sweet.)

19. The last thing you Googled?

A map of North Africa, trying to get a sense of the chaos unfolding there, my heart in my throat for all the people risking their lives for ordinary dreams of being allowed to be human.

20.     What makes you cringe?

When I hear people in restaurants being rude to their waiters. There's really no excuse for not being polite, even when you're damn irritated. I mean, it's just dinner, people.

Author Bio
Stacy Morrison, author of Falling Apart in One Piece: One Optimist's Journey Through the Hell of Divorce, is the editor in chief of Redbook magazine.  She was formerly executive editor at Marie Claire and editor in chief of Modern Bride, and has appeared as an expert on women, love, sex, money, and more on Today, CNN Moneyline, and The Early Show, among many other television programs.  Stacy lives in Brooklyn with her son, Zack.

 I would like to thank Stacy for stopping by BookHounds today.  Be sure to get her fabulous book at your favorite book store!

Here is a little bit about her book:

Description

The emotionally charged story of a divorce that brought the surprising gift of grace Just when Stacy Morrison thought everything in her life had come together, her husband of ten years announced that he wanted a divorce. She was left alone with a new house that needed a lot of work, a new baby who needed a lot of attention, and a new job in the high-pressure world of New York magazine publishing.
Morrison had never been one to believe in fairy tales. As far as she was concerned, happy endings were the product of the kind of ambition and hard work that had propelled her to the top of her profession. But she had always considered her relationship with her husband a safe place in her often stressful life. All of her assumptions about how life works crumbled, though, when she discovered that no amount of will and determination was going to save her marriage.
For Stacy, the only solution was to keep on living, and to listen—as deeply and openly as possible—to what this experience was teaching her.
Told with humor and heart, her honest and intimate account of the stress of being a working mother while trying to make sense of her unraveling marriage offers unexpected lessons of love, forgiveness, and dignity that will resonate with women everywhere.

GIVEAWAY! 20 Questions with Ben Ryder Howe, author of My Korean Deli

20 QUESTIONS WITH THE AUTHOR OF MY KOREAN DELI 

BEN RYDER HOWE

1. Bookmarks or dog ears?
Often neither. For some reason I seem to enjoy starting somewhere random each time I pick up a book. This is what the internet does to our brains, isn’t it?
2. Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
On. Otherwise I lose the jackets.
3. Favorite author?
I own more books by John McPhee than any other writer.
4. Favorite genre’?
Nothing is more exciting to me than a great short story that has just been or is about to be published.
5. What is the best book you have read in the last year?
Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor.
6. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
The Path Between the Seas by David McCulloch.
7. E books: Friend or foe?
Friend.
8. Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Life Studies by Robert Lowell, when I was eighteen.
9. What are you reading right now?
Indecision by Ben Kunkel.
10. What is the last book you bought just for the cover?
Monster of God by David Quammen.
11. What is the last book you received in the mail?
Only in New York by Sam Roberts arrived yesterday.
12. What is the number of books you own?
One thousand?
13. What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald.
14. Do you have a favorite place to read?
We used to have a hideous white fake leather couch that I loved reading on. We finally put it out on the street and I’ve been missing it ever since. If you know the people who have it, I’ll pay money to get it back.
15. What is next for you, publishing-wise?
I wish I knew.
16. Do you have a favorite place to write?
There’s an empty room next to the laundry room in our building. It’s colorless and lit by fluorescent tubes and reeks of mothballs, but I seem to find that kind of environment stimulating.
17. Do you have any pets ?
Our building doesn’t allow them.
18. How does your garden grow?
Not very well.
19. The last thing you Googled?
“The Great Brain.” Couldn’t remember the author.
20. What makes you cringe?
Clutter. I’m a compulsive straightener-upper.

 Thank you so much for stopping by BookHounds and answering my silly questions!  
Here is more about MY KOREAN DELI:

Description

This warm and funny tale of an earnest preppy editor finding himself trapped behind the counter of a Brooklyn convenience store is about family, culture and identity in an age of discombobulation.
It starts with a gift, when Ben Ryder Howe's wife, the daughter of Korean immigrants, decides to repay her parents' self-sacrifice by buying them a store. Howe, an editor at the rarefied Paris Review, agrees to go along. Things soon become a lot more complicated. After the business struggles, Howe finds himself living in the basement of his in-laws' Staten Island home, commuting to the Paris Review offices in George Plimpton's Upper East Side townhouse by day, and heading to Brooklyn at night to slice cold cuts and peddle lottery tickets. My Korean Deli follows the store's tumultuous life span, and along the way paints the portrait of an extremely unlikely partnership between characters with shoots across society, from the Brooklyn streets to Seoul to Puritan New England. Owning the deli becomes a transformative experience for everyone involved as they struggle to salvage the original gift—and the family—while sorting out issues of values, work, and identity.

About the Author

Ben Ryder Howe has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Outside, and his work has been selected for Best American Travel Writing. He is a former senior editor of The Paris Review. He, his wife, and their two children live on Staten Island. This is his first book.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?
Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a US address (no PO Boxes)
Contest ends on 3.30.11 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 3.31.11
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by the Henry Holt Publishing  and Three copies will be available.

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GIVEAWAY & 20 QUESTIONS WITH: Elena Gorokhova, author of A MOUNTAIN OF CRUMBS

Description

Elena Gorokhova’s A Mountain of Crumbs is the moving story of a Soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. Elena’s country is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its power and its pride. Born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, Elena finds her passion in the complexity of the English language—but in the Soviet Union of the 1960s such a passion verges on the subversive. Elena is controlled by the state the same way she is controlled by her mother, a mirror image of her motherland: overbearing, protective, difficult to leave. In the battle between a strong-willed daughter and her authoritarian mother, the daughter, in the end, must break free and leave in order to survive. Through Elena’s captivating voice, we learn not only the stories of Russian family life in the second half of the twentieth century, but also the story of one rebellious citizen whose curiosity and determination finally transport her to a new world. It is an elegy to the lost country of childhood, where those who leave can never return.

About the Author

Elena Gorokhova grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, although for most of her life it was known to her as Leningrad. At the age of 24 she married an American and came to the United States with only a 20 kilogram suitcase to start a new life. Now, Elena is a writer and lives in New Jersey.

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Thanks so much for stopping by Elena!  There are some truly brilliant answers here. 

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20 Questions with Elena Gorokhova

1.            Bookmarks or dog ears?

Reading glasses.  I’ve reached the age when I just leave my reading glasses in the book.  I keep my place and I don’t lose my glasses.
2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
These days I read most books so fast I hardly know if the jacket is on or off.

3.      Favorite author?
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who is extraordinary at portraying life as it is.

4.      Favorite genre’?
My favorite genre to read is poetry, but I write memoirs.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?
Summertime by J.M. Coetzee, the finest writer alive.

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Slow Cooker Revolution (a bestseller!) by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen.  No matter how long the movie, it will be worth it in the end.

7.      E books:  Friend or foe?
An E-book will never replace the feel or smell of a physical book, but the E-book revolution is happening, and all I can say is “How do you sign an E-book?”

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.  He was my teacher at the Southampton Writers Conference, and I owe the voice of my memoir to him.

9.      What are you reading right now?
Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones, for the second time, to be followed by her father’s great book From Here to Eternity.

10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?
Well, we’re back to Slow Cooker Revolution.  There is a piece of lasagna on its cover to die for.

11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?
Simon & Schuster sent me 2 boxes (50 copies) of my own book A Mountain of Crumbs, which just came out in paperback. 

12.     What is the number of books you own?

More than my house has space for.  But does one really own a novel or a poem or a story collection?

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
Brother Rabbit.  It’s a Russian book not translated into English.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?
My armchair in my office at home.

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?
With a little help from my agent, a book about my first year or two in the U.S. when I was a lost stranger in a strange land.

16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?
About 5 feet from the armchair I read in is my desk with a six-year-old laptop.  If any magic happens, it will happen there.

17.     Do you have any pets ?
A Lakeland terrier called Dima (short for Dmitri - or, maybe, demon).

18.    How does your garden grow?

It’s my husband’s garden that grows, not mine.  Weeding, watering and picking as a child who spent summers at the dacha near Leningrad left a less than positive mark on my soul as a gardener.

 19.  The last thing you Googled?
Like most authors (if they’re being completely candid) I googled my book to find out how it was doing.

20.     What makes you cringe?
Too many adjectives in front of a perfectly healthy noun.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?


Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a US or Canadian mailing addresses (no PO Boxes)

Contest ends on 3.19.11 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 3.20.11
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by Simon & Schuster and ONE copy will be available.

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20 QUESTIONS WITH: Abby McDonald, author of The Liberation of Alice Love

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 I would like to thank Abby for stopping by BookHounds today! 

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20 Questions with Abby McDonald, 

author of The Liberation of Alice Love

About the Author

Twenty-five-year-old Abby McDonald grew up in Sussex, England, and studied politics and philosophy at Oxford University. She began writing in college, completing her first novel before graduating to work as a music journalist. Her novel The Popularity Rules comes out in Fall 2011, and she has also written the young adult books Sophomore Swap and Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots. Visit www.abbymcdonald.com

1.            Bookmarks or dog ears?

Neither, I'm afraid I always bend the books face-down.

2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

On.

3.      Favorite author?
A tie between Marisa de los Santos and Jenny Crusie

4.      Favorite genre’?
Commercial fiction & YA

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?
I really enjoyed The Three Weissman’s of Westport by Cathleen Schine

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
The one I really want, I’m adapting into a script myself, but 2^nd runner up would be Love Walked In by Marissa de los Santos, with dream casting of Winona Ryder and Elle Fanning

7.      E books:  Friend or foe?
Undecided. I personally can’t quit page-and-type books.

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?
No one in particular, just a childhood spent buried in books!

9.      What are you reading right now?
Disaster Preparedness, a collection of essays by Heather Havrilesky

10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?
Vixen by Anna Godbersen

11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?
Emma Forrest’s ‘Your Voice in My Head’ in a care package for my birthday.

12.     What is the number of books you own?

Countless. I can’t bear to part with them, so my parents’ attic back in England is groaning under the weight!

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
There’s a wonderful series of ballet stories by Lorna Hill that I loved as a child; the line between my mother reading them to me and me reading for myself is so blurred.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?
Curled up in an armchair; at a sunny street café table; in bed; at the beach. Anywhere!

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?
I have a YA called The Anti-Prom coming out April 12^th, and then my next adult novel with Sourcebooks, The Popularity Rules, will be published in the fall.

16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?
A little café in Larchmont, LA, with excellent scones and comfy couches.

17.     Do you have any pets ?
No. I only just moved to the States, but would love a kitten one day.

18.    How does your garden grow?

Barely! I’ve never been able to keep much alive, but I just planted a herb garden, and hopefully will have better luck this time.

19.  The last thing you Googled?
Deana Carter’s video for ‘Did I Shave My Legs for This?’

20.     What makes you cringe?
Memories of my own social faux-pas. 

Visit Abby McDonald on her website HERE 

Subscribe to her blog there too!
Follow Abby McDonald on Twitter HERE

GIVEAWAY & 20 QUESTIONS WITH: Christine Meldrum author of Amaryllis in Blueberry

 20 QUESTIONS WITH CHRISTINA MELDRUM

AUTHOR OF AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY

Christina Meldrum received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science from the University of Michigan. After working in grassroots development in Africa, she earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She has worked for the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a litigator at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and is on the advisory board of Women of the World Investments

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I would like to thank Christina for stopping by BookHounds today to play 20 Questions.  You can read my rave HERE.  If you are looking for your next book club pick, this should be a serious contender since there is a lot to discuss  and wonderful themes to ponder.  There is a great Reading Group Guide HERE.

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 1.      Bookmarks or dog ears?

 Neither, really.  I love reading hard cover books—or paperbacks with French flaps—and using the jacket flap as my bookmark.  (Notice the French flaps on AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY. :)


2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

On!  My handy bookmark...


3.      Favorite author?

Oh my...  That's like asking me to pick my favorite child! 


4.      Favorite genre’?

 Literary fiction—although I do love a good plot.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?

 I love Michael Cunningham's writing, and I read his new book BY NIGHTFALL in the last year.  It wasn't my favorite of his books.  (THE HOURS is by far my favorite.)  But Michael Cunningham uses language in such a powerful way.  Every sentence seems a masterpiece.

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

MADAPPLE and AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY would make amazing movies.  And I'm NOT biased!  :)  Seriously, though, after seeing the movie MOMENTO, I thought its director Christopher Nolan would be the perfect director to make my books into novels.  Then I learned Christopher Nolan also directed THE DARK KNIGHT.   Hmmm. 


7.      E books:  Friend or foe? 

Friend.  After a lot of arm twisting. 

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?

 I had a wonderful high school English teacher, Chuck Spencer, who really taught me how to read literature.  Every book I read became a treasure chest after that.  More than any one book, Mr. Spencer inspired me.

9.      What are you reading right now?

 Abraham Verghese's CUTTING FOR STONE and Orhan Pamuk's THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE.


10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?

 Well, I can't say I bought it JUST for the cover, but the cover helped:  Orhan Pamuk's THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE.  (The paperback cover.  I know, I know, I said I like hard covers...already breaking my own rules.)


11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?

 AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY!  I received a gigantic box of copies from my publisher.

12.     What is the number of books you own? 

I can't count them all.  Seriously.  I don't think I've ever gotten rid of a book.  When I can no longer fit them in the bookshelf, they're boxed and put into storage.  Not very eco-friendly of me, I know.  But I do recycle everything else! 

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?


 Harold and the Purple Crayon.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?

 The Danish Landing, Michigan, which is a location in my second novel, AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY.  My family has owned a cottage on the Danish Landing for over 100 years.  I spent my childhood summers there and currently my children and I spend a month or so there each summer.  Be it in the cottage, on the dock, in the boat, on the porch...for me, there is no better place to read than on the Danish Landing.

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?

 I'm currently writing another novel for Knopf.


16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?

 In my study at home, surrounded by the books I love and photos of the people I love—and the smell of the dogs at my feet.  (See below.)


17.     Do you have any pets ?

 We have two escape artists (terrier mutts), one very plump cat and a dragon—bearded, that is.  The bearded dragon eats crickets and mealworms, so we tend to have a lot of those around as well.  Not exactly pets, but...   (Yes, I am the mother of boys.)


18.    How does your garden grow? 

Mostly in my mind and books.  (We have a very shady yard!)

 19.  The last thing you Googled?   

BookHounds!

20.     What makes you cringe?   

Mealworms.  (Cringing now.)



WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

Contest is open to anyone with a US mailing addresses (no PO Boxes)

Contest ends on 3.8.11 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 3.9.11
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by Simon and Schuster Publishing and ONE copy of the book will be available.


Complete the below form
Follow Me
Extra Entries
+1 Follow my other blog FOREVER YOUNG (adult)

+1 Be my friend on GoodReads HERE

+1 Follow me on Twitter HERE 

More Extra Entries

+1 Friend on Facebook HERE 
+1 Fan on Goodreads HERE
+1 Follow on Twitter HERE