Tag: books

creativity

In the pause: Enter my giveaways of the books The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Wonder

Christa Avampato

To celebrate the launch of my young adult book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, I’m doing a series of giveaways of books that inspire me as a writer. The first one is The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. Enter the sweepstakes on Amazon in just a few clicks!

I’m also giving away the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Enter that sweepstakes on Amazon.

About The Girl Who Drank the Moon:

Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal
The New York Times Bestseller
An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2016
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2016
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016
An Amazon Top 20 Best Book of 2016
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016
Named to KirkusReviews’ Best Books of 2016
2017 Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge–with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .

About Wonder:

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JULIA ROBERTS, OWEN WILSON, AND JACOB TREMBLAY!

Over 6 million people have read the #1 New York Times bestseller WONDER and have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face.

The book that inspired the Choose Kind movement.

I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse. 

August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

“Wonder is the best kids’ book of the year,” said Emily Bazelon, senior editor at Slate.com and author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out. 

Join the conversation: #thewonderofwonder

creativity

In the pause: Being a writer makes me a better product developer

Christa Avampato

Being a writer makes me a better product developer. The daily practice of writing across genres for the past 10 years has helped me understand the art of brevity, the science of engagement, and the power of inspiration. High-quality products and books, and the marketing and promotion behind them, convey their intrinsic value in simple, elegant terms. At the very heart of great writing and great products, there must live the ability for them to improve the quality of life for those who consume them. I am proud and honored to stand in the parallel worlds of product development and writing. Both acts of creativity are more than a career to me; they are a part of my soul. They are who I am.

creativity

In the pause: Reading With Your Kids—a podcast for readers and parents of readers

Christa Avampato

132943Last night I had the great pleasure to chat with Jed Doherty. We spoke about my young adult book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, that will be released on November 1st. With his podcast Reading With Your Kids, Jed is on a mission to promote children’s and young adult literature as well as the act of parents and their kids reading together and discussing books. I’m so honored to be a guest on his podcast, and our interview will be published soon. In the mean time, listen to many of the other fantastic interviews that he’s has done with authors including Lizette Lantigua, Brent A. Ford, and Jenny Ford.

 

creativity

In the pause: Sending out the next to last chapter of my book’s prequel today

Christa Avampato

Sending a Labor Day gift to my email list subscribers for my book: the next to last chapter of the prequel. If you’d like to be added to my list hop on over to this form and add your email address.

creativity

In the pause: Today my young adult book about Emerson Page arrived in my hands

Christa Avampato

21167757_10103838731942226_4372951104648444552_oToday my young adult book about Emerson Page arrived on my doorstep and I burst into tears. I’ve waited so long to see her. It’s overwhelming to say the least. Thank you to everyone who believed she would find her way into the light. Pre-order is available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2wAhmvG.

creativity

In the pause: Looking for bookstore and community center partners for my young adult book

Christa Avampato

Do you have a great local bookstore? Do you know of a local organization in your city where I could offer writing, storytelling, and publishing workshops?

Part of my marketing plan for my young adult book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, is to offer writing and storytelling workshops to young people and adults. Topics could include storytelling, publishing, and book branding and marketing.

If you have a great local bookstore or community center that focuses on storytelling, please let me know as I’d love to partner with them to promote and support their work. Stories change the world.

creativity

In the pause: My young adult book broke into the top 50K on Amazon

Christa Avampato

A big note of thanks to all of you who have supported my young adult book. Because of you, I broke into the top 50K (out of 8M+ books!) on Amazon! Feeling so grateful. Pre-order for Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters is available now.

emerson-page-and-where-the-light-enters-6x9-front-back

creativity

In the pause: Be an early reader and reviewer of my young adult fantasy novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters

Christa Avampato

emerson-page-and-where-the-light-enters-6x9-front-backThe final cover art and galley for my young adult fantasy novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, are off to the printer. I’m now shoulder-deep in marketing and promotion of the book. Are you interested in reading it and being an early reviewer on your own blog or on Amazon? Do you know someone else who might be interested? Please send me an email. I’d love to hear from you!

creativity

In the pause: How the eclipse influenced my writing

Christa Avampato

Yesterday, Phin and I experienced the solar eclipse at the American Museum of Natural History and in Central Park. The atmosphere was festive. It felt like the entire city had turned out to look up at the sky in wonder at exactly the same time. There was something beautiful and magical about this time, and that beauty and magic activated my writer brain.

Emerson Page, the heroine of my novel, has a special relationship with the stars and they play a large, active part in her story. The series will be 9 books in total, and I realized yesterday that the last day of her written story will be April 8, 2024, the day that the next solar eclipse will happen. Its line of totality will include Emerson’s hometown of New York City, the city where this series of books begins and ends. Emerson will be 20 years old by then. I know where she’s going, and I’m excited to discover and share with you the path she’ll take to get there.

 

creativity

In the pause: Authors, the marketing of your book is on you

Christa Avampato

Publishers tell authors they need a platform. Here’s what they really mean: the marketing and promotion of your book rests with you. That care and concern can’t be farmed out. No matter who you hire or who publishes the book, you must be your own advocate, cheerleader, and agent. Being an author is a business; thank goodness I have an MBA.

I let myself feel disappointed by this fact for about 5 minutes. It was a rough 5 minutes. And then I picked myself up and went to work executing against the plan I had laid out months ago. It’s a grind and I have to give it everything I have in this last stretch before the November 1st release. I wrote and sent 43 pitches in 36 hours, most of them in the very weeeee hours of the morning.

I also had to come to the frustrating conclusion that the act of writing the second book has to take a backseat while I promote the first book that comes out in November, especially in these last few months before it’s released.

And with every query I just couldn’t get this quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald out of my mind: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Today, what we can dream about for the future rests firmly in our ability to manage what’s already been done.