Publisher: Long Walk Press
Pub. Date: August 1, 2013
Pages: 288
Description:
From the International Bestselling Author of the Tempest Series...
Set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics...
I've gotten used to the dead parents face. I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.
Buy Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
About Julie Cross
Julie Cross is the International Bestselling author of the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, and the final installment, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the author of Letters to Nowhere (8/13), a mature young adult romance set in the world of elite gymnastics, as well as several forthcoming young adult and new adult novels with publishers like Entangled, Sourcebooks, HarperCollins, and St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books.
Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She's a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director with the YMCA. She's a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and new adult genres. Outside of her reading and writing credibility's, Julie Cross is a committed--but not talented--long distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a ponytail and gym shoe addict. You can find her online via twitter, her personal website, email, facebook, Goodreads, or co-moderating the YAwriters section of reddit.
Find her:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube
What are the differences and similarities between self-publishing and traditional-publishing?
I’ve only been in the self-publishing game for a month now, so I haven’t collected a ton of data yet, but the number difference for me is: speed.
Everything, and I do mean everything, moves faster in the self-pub world. I’m not going to elaborate on whether or not I think this is a good thing, it’s all relative depending on the book and the author. To give you an idea of the timing, around the same time that I decided to self-publish Letters to Nowhere, I also accepted an offer for another book deal with a traditional publishing house. That was mid-May. We’ve done some information and negotiations for this deal since then, but it still hasn’t been announced, no contract has been signed, no edits done yet. This is very on target for the traditional road. Since mid-May I’ve the following things with Letters to Nowhere:
Things Done with Letters to Nowhere Between May 15, 2013 and September 3, 2013
Decided to self-publish
Edited the first draft, lots of rewrites
Hired a copy editor and then sent her the manuscript
Got a cover designed
Got blurbs/quotes from authors and bloggers
Announced on my personal website that the release date and book info
Schedule two blog tours, two weeks long each + about 15 other interviews and guest posts for release day/month
Received copyedited manuscript back and sifted through edits/made corrections
Sent revised version to a proof reader and then made adjustments after receiving
Sent final manuscript for formatting
Put Letters to Nowhere up for sale on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes
Completed one full blog tour + one email blast/.99cent 2 day sale
Hit #1 in the teen sports fiction category on Amazon + top 20 in romance sports category
Completed one month of sales thus royalty payment #1 is on its way
So as you can see, speed can change everything. It doesn’t mean you’re better off one way or another. I know with Tempest series books, they needed time to settle in, the plot needed time to settle into my brain and all the months between drafts and volumes, though I was super anxious to finish quick, actually made the series so much better.
I also know a lot of authors whose self-publishing process was even quicker than mine. But the moral of the story is that you have to do what’s best for you, your book, and your author career as a whole, assuming you want to publish more than one novel. The waiting in the traditional world can be very difficult at times, despite being necessary and for me, I lack patience and having one project that I could control the speed has helped me relax a bit about the waiting with all my other books. Plus, I just love that term—Hybrid Author. Makes me feel like a weird superhero clone or something.
**TWO giveaways
--GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY to ONE Winner.
--An eBook of LETTERS TO NOWHERE to FIVE Winners.
The Grand Prize giveaway is open internationally, however international winners can only select five of the books listed due to shipping costs.
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY
AUTOGRAPHED FINISHED COPIES of...
- All 3 of Simone Elkeles' HOW TO RUIN series
- TEETH by Hannah Moskowitz
- GONE GONE GONE by Hannah Moskowitz
- LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger
BITTERSWEET by Sara Zarr
ARCs of OCTOBER 2013 YA RELEASES
- UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia
- ANYWHERE BUT HERE by
- BANG by Lisa McMann
- REALITY BOY by A.S. King
- NEVER FADE by Alexandra Bracken
SIX MONTHS LATER by Natalie D. Richards
ARCs of NOV 2013 - FEB 2014 YA RELEASES
- ALIENATED by Melissa Landers (Feb 2014)
- ROOMIES by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando (Dec 2013)
- AFTER EDEN by Helen Douglas (Nov 2013)
OTHER BOOK PRIZES
- Personalized signed copies of TEMPEST + VORTEX (a foreign edition if available can be swapped for the U.S. edition)
- E-copy of LETTERS TO NOWHERE by Julie Cross (if print is available at time of shipping, a print copy will be sent, too)
WINNER'S CHOICE (ONE of Following BIG prizes)
- Basic US Kindle (valued at $69.00 USD)
OR
- $50 US Amazon Gift card
OR
- $50 US Barnes and Noble gift card
*As some prizes may not be redeemable by international participants, alternative suggestions are welcome but not guaranteed.
Rafflecopter Entry Options:
There is only a mandatory option to leave a comment.
There are extra entries for following the author on Twitter, liking the author’s Facebook page and adding LETTERS TO NOWHERE on Goodreads. There is also a daily tweet option.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Week One
Sept. 3rd - The Book Cellar - Review & Guest Post
Sept. 3rd - Reading In Twilight - Guest Post
Sept. 4th - A Backwards Story - Review
Sept. 4th - The Irish Banana - Review
Sept. 5th - Bittersweet Enchantment - Interview
Sept. 5th - Book Breather - Review
Sept. 5th - Never Too Fond of Books - Review
Sept. 6th - Curling Up With A Good Book - Guest Post
Sept. 6th - Oops! I Read A Book Again - Review
Week Two
Sept. 9th - Page Turners - Review & Guest Post
Sept. 9th - Gobs and Gobs of Books - Interview
Sept. 10th - Crawling Over The Pages - Guest Post
Sept. 10th - Musings From An Addicted Reader - Review
Sept. 10th - Sweet Southern Home - Guest Post
Sept. 11th - Mom With A Kindle - Interview
Sept. 11th - Reading with ABC - Review
Sept. 12th - Gone with the Words - Review & Guest Post
Sept. 12th - About to Read - Review
Sept. 12th - Blackplume - Interview
Sept. 13th - Every Free Chance Book Reviews - Guest Post
Sept. 13th - Literary Meanderings - Review