Authors are ROCKSTARS!

We are pleased to bring you an interview with the incredible Cylin Busby, recorded at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. 

We had so much fun chatting with Cylin about her latest book for teens, Blink Once, a suspenseful paranormal thriller- what kind of research she did, and what it was like to write from a male perspective. We also talked about the intense memoir she co-wrote with her father, The Year We Disappeared, and then we capped it all off with some truly epic regional accents. 

(Time warp! We interviewed Cylin earlier this year

when Michelle still had a baby on board.)

We have a giveaway to go along with this episode of the podcast! To win an autographed hardcover cover of Blink Once, comment on this post and tell us which one of Cylin's accents you liked best. Be sure to include your email address or Twitter username so we can contact you if you're the winner. Deadline is Tuesday, May 14, 11:59 pm PST. Contest open to US residents only.

Visit cylinbusby.com to keep up with Cylin, and be sure to check out her publisher, Bloomsbury. Many thanks go to Cylin's rockstar publicist, Deb Shapiro, for setting up this interview! 

All right, fantasy fans, get excited! We have an interview with Defiance author, CJ Redwine, for you. We had so much fun talking to CJ about what inspired the intense emotions in this post-apocalyptic fantasy, her determination to write while juggling the duties of motherhood, and more-- and she answers listener questions! So if you submitted a question, tune in.

In this episode, we also share our must-read book picks of the month: Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell, and Golden, by Jessi Kirby.

Be sure to visit CJ at her website and visit her publisher, Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Lauren Oliver, author of the spellbinding dystopian Delirium series, visited the Mission Viejo Library last month, and we were thrilled to snag an interview with this amazing author! Michelle is still on semi-maternity leave with her cute baby, so I was joined by our good friend Lalitha of Masala Reader for this event.

Want to download this podcast? Click here for an mp3 or find us on iTunes. 

Lauren's visit to the Mission Viejo Library was fantastic-- her fans were rapt as she spoke about her writing and read an excerpt from Requiem, the final volume of her New York Times bestselling Delirium trilogy, and everyone enjoyed mini cupcakes iced to match the covers of Lauren's books as they waited in line to meet her and have their books signed.

Visit Lauren Oliver's website to keep up with her upcoming titles, and be sure to take a look at her publisher, HarperCollins. In the Southern California area? Visit the Mission Viejo Library and keep a lookout for any upcoming author visits. 

Look at that audiobook cover... you may see a familiar name. That's right-- I'm the narrator of a YA audiobook by the fabulous author Jordan Dane.

On today's podcast, Allison and I chat with Jordan via Skype to talk about her newest release Indigo Awakening and then Allison turns the mic around to interview both Jordan and I about the audiobook release of In the Arms of Stone Angels. I have to admit, it was a bit weird to be on the other side of the interview!

Both Indigo Awakening and the print edition of In the Arms of Stone Angels were published by HarlequinTeen and are available at your favorite retailer. You can purchase the audiobook of In the Arms of Stone Angels on iTunes, Amazon or Audible.com.

We are thrilled to have Shannon Messenger on the podcast! She is a most delightful person, and her YA debut, Let the Sky Fall, is in bookstores everywhere TODAY. Michelle is supposed to be taking it easy with her baby, but she is currently doing her "happy book" dance. She is just that excited!

And there's a giveaway to celebrate the launch of this fantastic series! We're thrilled to be giving away signed ARCs of Let the Sky Fall. To enter, just comment on this post and tell us which wind direction you would want to be: North, South, East, or West. Be sure to leave your email or Twitter handle along with your comment so we can contact the winner. Contest is open to US residents only. Comment to enter by Sunday, March 10. We have three signed copies to giveaway and one unsigned so FOUR WINNERS!

Visit Shannon's blog to keep up with her latest news, and be sure to stop by her publisher, Simon & Schuster.

And stay tuned... We will be announcing the winner of the Beth Revis giveaway on our Twitter account today. Do you follow us on there yet? You can find us at @AuthorsROCK.

Beth Revis is back on the show, y'all! She joined us via Skype to discuss the stunning final volume in her Across the Universe series.

We were utterly thrilled to chat with Beth again, and we know you're going to love this interview. Also in this episode, Michelle goes on maternity leave and Allison shares her book pick of the month, The Star of Kazan, by Eva Ibbotson.

Stop by Beth's website to keep up with her latest news, and visit her publisher, Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin).

Edit: Oh my gosh! We almost forgot to mention the awesome giveaway that Beth is doing for our listeners. You could win a set of signed Across the Universe books. Just comment and tell us... if you had a spaceship, what would YOU name it? Be sure to include your Twitter handle or a way for us to contact you. We'll post the winner on the blog next week on March 5th with our Shannon Messenger launch party podcast! US Residents only please.

We chatted via Skype with Annameekee Hesik, author of The You-Know-Who Girls: Freshman Year. It's a smart, funny read about basketball, girls in love with girls, and self-discovery. We were charmed by Annameekee, and we know you will be, too!

Learn more about Annameekee at her website, and visit her publisher, Bold Strokes Books.

Veronica Rossi's debut novel, Under the Never Sky, was one of our favorite reads of 2012. We just loved its unique blend of science fiction, fantasy, adventure, and romance-- so we were thrilled to get a chance to catch up with her around the release of the sequel, Through the Ever Night, which came out earlier this month. 

Veronica was gracious enough to answer lots of questions submitted by YOU, her fans, as well as plenty of our own questions!

Also, be sure to pay extra special attention to the beginning and end of this podcast, because... well, you'll hear why!

Visit Veronica at her website and stop by her publisher, HarperCollins.

In anticipation of the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Seattle this weekend, we present a special project: Librarians are ROCKSTARS! We teamed up with Steve from the Circulating Ideas podcast to interview two very awesome authors about their experiences with libraries. First up is Kirby Larson!

Kirby Larson received the Newbery Honor for Hattie Big Sky, and its highly-anticipated sequel,  Hattie Ever After, hits bookstore shelves on February 12th.

Get acquainted with Kirby at her website, and be sure to stop by her publisher, Delacorte, an imprint of Random House. And for part two of our Librarians are ROCKSTARS! collaboration, visit Circulating Ideas this Thursday.