Archive for February, 2010
February 21st, 2010
Are you ready to join Alyson Noel, Tera Lynn Childs and I and live your Five? Become a bonafide Honorary Fiver member of the Living Your FiveTM community!
To become an Honorary Fiver, simply share your personal Five on your own blog. Let us know the five areas you want to make a difference in!
Once you’ve shared your Five, you are officially an Honorary Fiver and have our permission to nab this cute logo (designed by our own fab Tera!) to place on your blog or web site. Cool, right?
What does being an Honorary Fiver mean?
Being an Honorary Fiver means you’re ready to join us in our quest to change our world… one person and one Five at a time. But posting your Five on your blog is just the beginning. We want you to keep us posted on how you’re doing on your Five! Any time one of us posts about our Five progress on our blogs, please chime in and share your Five news too. Tell us what great things you’re up to. All Fiver progress is worth celebrating, big steps and baby steps alike!
The more action we take, the more excitement we spread, the more momentum we build… the more impact we make as a Fiver community!
An important note before you get rolling…
One of the tricky things about creating your Five is distinguishing between something that’s beneficial to you vs. something that’s immediately beneficial to others. Even we had to stop ourselves on occasion and ask “Who is really benefitting from this?”
Your Five should be things that directly impact others in a positive way, not something that is primarily for your own personal benefit.
In addition to our Fives, Alyson, Tera and I are all actively pursuing our own kinds of personal development. That’s just part of being the best we can be. But that’s a personal endeavor, not a Fiver endeavor.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
Things like regular meditation and spiritual development are for your own personal growth. They’re lovely goals, to be sure. And they may very well improve your ability to carry out your Five. But those goals would not be part of your Five themselves because the person who benefits most is you.
Stick to things that directly and obviously impact others first and foremost, whether those others are people, animals, the Earth, or whatever you happen to care about. Don’t worry… if you’re like us, there will be way more than just five things in your “Impacting Others” column.
And now, without further ado, I introduce… YOU!
So there you go! If you’re ready to step up to the plate–Welcome! We’re thrilled to have you aboard!–now is your time to shine. Share your Five on your blog, nab the Honorary Fiver logo for your blog sidebar or web site (and link it back to www.kaycassidy.com/lyf so others can learn more about LYF), and go change your world!
And be sure to comment below to let us know you’ve become an Honorary Fiver so we can cheer you!
Are you ready to Live Your Five?
February 8th, 2010
Huge congrats go to our newest monthly winners of the national Great Scavenger Hunt Contest reading program for kids and teens! Please join me in cheering on the winning hunter:
** Esther P. **
And the winning librarian:
** Kelly White **
from Salisbury, MD
Enjoy your prizes!!
February 8th, 2010
Check out the February 2010 additions to the national Great Scavenger Hunt Contest reading program for kids and teens!
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk (YA)
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu (YA)
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (YA)
A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker (YA)
The Naughty List by Suzanne Young (YA)
Operation YES by Sara Lewis Holmes (MG/Tween)
Secret Society by Tom Dolby (YA)
Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley (YA)
February 4th, 2010
I am completely delighted to share that I’ve joined the fabulous group of YA authors known as the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit! So it’s with great pleasure that I introduce my first GCC post about my fellow Tenner, the fabulous Suzanne Young. Suz’s debut novel, THE NAUGHTY LIST, is the first in her hilarious Smitten Kittens series… and it’s on shelves TODAY!
Welcome, Suz! 
The Girlfriend
Name:
Suzanne Young
Short Bio:
Suzanne Young is a brilliant scientist. Not really. But she is a former middle school teacher turned zookeeper (mother). When Suzanne’s not fending off zombie squirrels or narrating her daughter’s Barbie soap operas, she can be found camping on the Oregon coast or writing obsessively.
Suzanne is the author of The Naughty List series coming February 4th, 2010 from Razorbill/Penguin. The Naughty List is about a group of cheerleaders who investigate cheating boyfriends. Which Suzanne never did. Or at least, not that you can prove.
Learn more at www.suzanne-young.blogspot.com
The Book
The Naughty List
February 2010
Razorbill
As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!
When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?
The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?
Follow the squad at www.thecheaterreport.blogspot.com
Look out for series:
The Naughty List-2/4/10
So Many Boys-6/10/10
A Good Boy is Hard to Find-10/2010
What bloggers are saying about The Naughty List:
www.bookchicclub.blogspot.com: “Suzanne Young’s The Naughty List is a fast, original, and fun romp that fans of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series will surely enjoy! Tessa is a wonderful, relatable character full of depth, quirks, and heart. A sure-fire hit!”
www.thestorysiren.com: “Espionage, lively cheerleaders, and very naughty boys… equal one debut that I found unputdownable!”
www.sharonlovesbooksandcats.com: “Holy cannoli! The Naughty List is one of the most adorable books I have ever read. Seriously people this book is just dripping in cuteness.”
Up Close and Personal
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Was being a published author a dream of yours? If so, how does it feel to have achieved your dream?
You know, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. It seems my imagination always had a story to tell. More than the dream of being published, I’m so happy that all of my characters get to escape from my head. It’s scary in there.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
I hope to raise good, wonderful kids. I hope that my books can make people smile, and forget their problems for a little while. But more than anything, I want my stories to make girls feel good about themselves.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
WOW! Do you have an hour? Honestly, I truly am blessed. I live in a great place with an insanely talented group of friends. And after a really tough year, I’m grateful for my health, and my family’s unconditional love.
Author Fun!
4. SECRET SQUEE MOMENT: What is the coolest thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?
At another author’s book signing, I brought my ARC to give to a friend. A girl next to me saw it and recognized it! She asked about it and I ended up giving her the copy because I was so excited. It was the first time I met anyone who was excited about The Naughty List coming out.
5. THE REAL DEAL: If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Enjoy the time with your family. One day they won’t be there and all of those memories will become some of the things you cherish most in life.
Thanks to Suz for a terrific interview! And readers, be sure to pick up your copy of The Naughty List today!
February 3rd, 2010
Yay! It’s our very first 10 in ’10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge check-in day!
The lovely Jessica has posted the first official check-in over on her Chick Lit Teens blog, and I’m super excited to see what everyone has been reading and what they thought of it. Remember to link your blog check-in post via Mr. Linky!
After seeing everyone’s fabulous lists for the challenge, my own challenge list grew quite a bit. So instead of reading 10 teen chick lit books, I think my list is nearing 30 now! To keep track of them, I’ve added a GoodReads widget in my sidebar listing them all.
In order to stay on track, I need to read 2-3 teen chick lit books from my list each month. Since I adore teen chick lit (which is why I write it, I suppose), this should be easy peasy.
For the month of January, I read 2 awesome books from my list.
The Naughty List
by Suzanne Young
Mac and cheese! This book is hilarious! Suz is one of those rare writers who can mix great characterization with hilarious dialogue. And her use of food as exclamations is so up my alley. 
Since this is Suz’s debut book, it also counts for my Debut Author Challenge via The Story Siren. Double the fun, I say!
Wings
by Aprilynne Pike
I know, I know… I’m about a million years behind on my reading and just now pulled this from my TBR shelves. I’ve been meaning to read it forever and boy, was it worth the wait! I don’t read a ton of paranormals because I’m not a huge fan of vamps and weres, but I love cool new takes on mythology. Aprilynne’s brilliant fae world is AWESOME. I’m firmly Team Tamani (and secretly hope David ends up with a certain someone in future books), but no matter which direction books 2-4 go, I am going to eat them up.
So that’s my first 10 in ’10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge check-in. What are you reading for the challenge? (And if you haven’t signed up for the challenge, there’s still time! Get all the details here.)
Happy reading!
