Sweet Venom blog tour!

To celebrate the release of the first book in her new kick-ass demon fighting trilogy, Tera Lynn Childs is popping by the UK (virtually) to answer some of your questions. The UK blog tour is running from today until Saturday with a LIVE webchat on Monday 1st October

This week we are stopping at:

Monday 24th September - Book Angel Booktopia

Tuesday 25th September - A Reading Daydreamer

Wednesday 26th September - Bookcrazed Reviews

Thursday 27th September - My Book Journey

Friday 28th September - Book Passion for Life

Saturday 29th September - Whispering Words

Still have some questions left unaswered? Tera will be doing a LIVE webchat on Monday 1st October at 7pm (UK time)

Follow the link and enter the password to get involved:
chatzy.com/55708195522543
password: getbitten


Pick up your copy of Sweet Venom here: http://amzn.to/Ur872V

Guest post from Tera Lynn Childs

The first book in Tera Lynn Child's new series is publishing this month! To celebrate this new feisty series, Tera has written us a post about how she develops her characters...

Starting a new book is the best feeling in the world. I love the brainstorming part, the daydreaming and the world building and the brilliant, perfect idea of what the finished book is going to turn out to be.

Then I start writing. As soon as I put words on the page then flaws start to show. The sentence I can’t get just right, the plot thread I don’t know how to start, or the character I can’t quite figure out. I get about 15-30 pages into the story and I get stuck.

That’s where my character collages come in. I’m a very visual person. I grew up playing with my dad’s markers and colored pencils, sketching up fashions and house plans. When I get stuck with my words, sometimes it takes a visual jumpstart to get them flowing again.

First, I gather my supplies. Blank paper, scissors, a glue stick, a silver Sharpie, and magazines. Lots and lots of magazines.

 Next, I flip through the magazines, looking for images that remind me of my main characters. They might be pictures of a model who looks like the character, clothes they might wear, and things they might own. I tear them out and make piles for each main character.

Then, I cut out the individual images, arrange them on the paper, and glue them in place.

These collages give me a great visual reference for the character. Even if I don’t use the items in the collage, they fill in a lot of blanks about what kind of person the character is, the kinds of things they would buy, and how they would react to things.

For Sweet Venom, these collages were even more important than usual since I was dealing with triplets. These three girls are identical (physically anyway) but they are very, very different. They were adopted into three different families and raised separately. They grew up to be three very unique girls.

Grace was raised by a stable and loving family. She is the sweet girl next door who wears Converse and sweaters and daydreams in her bed.

Gretchen was raised by horrible parents until she ran away and started fighting monsters. She is the tough girl who sports leather jackets and carries a dagger in her steel-toed boots.

Greer was raised by wealthy, powerful parents. She is the high class snob who wears designer clothes, gold jewelry, and has perfect highlights in her hair.

I had a general idea of these things about the girls when I started writing Sweet Venom. I had a basic understanding of their characters, but the collages reinforced that. Helped me develop a fuller, more well-rounded understanding of who they are and how they would react to situations… like, say, finding themselves face to face with a mythological monster or a long lost identical triplets they never knew they had.

Sweet Venom is publishing 1st September 2012, click here to pick up your copy. Don't forget to check out our awesome Facebook cover competition. Find out more details here

Follow Tera on Twitter or visit her website to find out more! 
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Forgive My Fins UK Blog Tour 27th June - 8th July

On 1st July 2011, Templar is publishing US blockbuster Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs. I'm going to use my British tendency for understatement and say we are quite thrilled to be doing so... And now I'm going to tell the truth and say we are absolutely over the moonfish to be bringing such a successful author and her adorable mermaid heroine to our shores. See what I did there!

Click here for an extract

FORGIVE MY FINS
Tera Lynn Childs

When a mermaid has her first kiss, she 'bonds' for life with the person she kisses. For Lily, a mermaid princess living in secret on land, this means she has ended up accidentally bonded to her obnoxious neighbour, instead of to the boy of her dreams. So begins a tidal wave of relationship drama, as Lily discovers that happily-ever-after never sails as smoothly as you plan it to.

Forgive My Fins had me hooked from page one, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in its sequel! I simply adored this book! Alyson Noel, author of The Immortals Series

This lighter-than-air read will charm teens and tween girls who prefer their supernatural romances to be more Meg Cabot than Stephenie Meyer. ALA Booklist



Tera will be visiting a massive 12 blogs on her tour, starting on 27th June and coming to an end on 8th July and if you miss even one of these stops you'll be seriously disrespecting your love of YA fiction. So, here's the line up:

27th June

With a kick of our fins we're starting the tour off at I Want To Read That where Tera will be dropping off her first guest post and the lovely Sammee will be posting her review - and believe me, this girl knows her YA!

28th June

If that wets your appetite, swim over to The Slowest Bookworm where you can read an exceprt from the first pages of the book and check out how The Slowest Bookworm has rated Forgive My Fins in her review. If you've already decided this book is for you, you can also enter the first giveaway of the tour.

29th June

On day three, Tera will be talking about how writing has worked its way into her life over on Nayu's Reading Corner and there will be a third review from Nayu if you wreckon you still need convincing.

30th June

If you're into your music as much as you're into your books then Book Angel Booktopia is the stop for you. Tera will be discussing her musical moments, the music that has influenced her and Forgive My Fins. The Book Angel will also be hosting the second giveaway on the tour so make shore you enter!

1st July

It's publication day and Tera will be coming ashore at Books For Company for her first Q&A so head here for some juicy insights and another chance to get your hands on a copy of the book.

2nd July

Tera will be dropping off another fintastic guest post at the halfway stop over at Cheezyfeet Books where you can also read another review and - yes, we're spoiling you rotten - enter another giveaway.

3rd July

It's the end of the first week of the tour and Tera will be at Mostly Reading YA with her 5th guest post. It's the perfect plaice to be if you've got those Sunday evening blues...

4th July

Whilst Tera is shellebrating Independence Day, she'll also be at Girls Without A Bookshelf to discuss how she imagined and created a mer world - how do you translate mattresses, cars and fridges?

5th July

Heaven, Hell and Purgatory Book Reviews are running a Summer Reading month during July and today they will be featuring a crabulous guest post from Tera. Keep your eye on this blog during July if you want to improve your summer bookshelf.

6th July

Time for Tera's last guest post of the tour at My Keeper Shelf but don't get your flippers in a twist because it's going to be a good one! Tera will be talking about her books for keeps - the ones that take pride of place on her bookshelf and are read time and time again. You can also read the My Keeper Shelf review and enter a giveaway.

7th July

We've reached the penultimate stop and it's with Templar's good friend The Reader Room. Here you'll find a krilliant Q&A with Tera plus Alice's review and yet another giveaway. If you haven't entered one of these by now, there's something wrong with you!

8th July

Time for the tour's grand finale and we will be at Book Passion For Life where there will be the last review and giveaway combo so it's your last chance to make up your mind that you want to read this book. And believe me, you really want to read this book.


~

So, at last Tera will be able to give her typing fingers a rest - perhaps a nice soak in some salt water? Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook page for all the latest news about Forgive My Fins and all our fantastic YA titles.

Tera Lynn Childs is an award-winning author of teenage fiction. She spends her time blogging and writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages. Forgive My Fins is her first book with Templar and the sequel, Fins are Forever, will be published in 2012.


P.S. If you groaned your way through this post due to all the bad nautical puns I'm very sorry!