What's new with Steph?

I'm loving this week...catching up on news from all the Buzz Girls! And we've got an incredible giveaway! Keep reading for more deets.

It was awesome to chat with Stephanie on what's been going on in her world.



Hey Steph! How has 2011 been treating you so far?

STEPHANIE: I can't believe it is already March and almost time for the RWA Rita finalists to be announced already. I don't know where the year has gone!!



I know! Time flies... So, tell our readers what you're currently working on?

STEPHANIE: I'm currently working away on a new YA novel. I wish I could tell the readers more but I'm very superstitious about discussing new works. Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to announce a new sale and tell you all about it. I'm extremely lucky with have our own Tina Ferraro as a critique partner and she has helped me so much!

That's great...and we've got our fingers crossed on a new sale soon! So tell us...do you have any upcoming events or signings where people can catch you?

STEPHANIE: I had really hoped to be in NYC for RWA Nationals this year, but I don't think it is going to work out. Unless I win the lottery, then I'm totally there. Ha. I hope to be in LA with the Buzz Girls at RT in spirit though and I expect pictures of hot guys.

Yeah, I'm a little worried about RT as a first-timer. Don't know what to expect! LOL! Can you tell us what inspires you as an author?

STEPHANIE: If I'm having a day when I think my writing isn't good, or just feeling down about things, I like to re-read fan emails. It is an amazing feeling to know that you have kept people up turning pages when they should have been sleeping. Or that someone got something positive from your writing that you didn't even originally intend. These are the things that inspire me.

That is so true! In this digital and automatic age, it's so easy for authors to connect with their fans...and their appreciation and e-mails really DO make a difference and keep us going.

Thanks for sharing what's up with you! And if you haven't already read Steph's books, what are you waiting for? Check her out at http://www.stephaniehale.com/.



Now...to enter our contest to win the fabulous jewelry, please leave a comment or question for Stephanie.

Thanks again, Steph!!!

Hugs,
Marley = )
www.marleygibson.com
www.ghosthuntress.com

Ghosts don't hang up their sheets after Halloween!
GHOST HUNTRESS series - The Awakening, The Guidance,
The Reason, The Counseling - available now!

Winners!

Busy with copy edits for GHOST HUNTRESS: THE DISCOVERY, but wanted to poke my head in and announce a few things.

First off, starting Sunday, we will be back to our regular (non-summer) posting schedule, so we'll have something fresh every day for you now that all of our warm weather distractions have, sadly, come to a close.

Secondly, on Sunday, we will kick off the launch of the fourth book in my GHOST HUNTRESS series - THE COUNSELING, which is released on September 1st! We'll have a lot of giveaways and the chance to enter a GRAND PRIZE giveaway, so be sure to stop back by and get in on the fun!

Thirdly, on that note, I'm giving away an advanced copy, as per last week's contest, as well as some Silly Bandz. And the winners are....

MD - pack of Silly Bandz

brendajean - pack of Silly Bandz

Steph - copy of THE COUNSELING

Please contact me offline with your snail mail address and I'll get the prizes out to you - marley_gibson AT yahoo DOT com.

See you on Sunday!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Get spooked this fall!
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING - available September 1st!

A Chat, A Winner, and some BIG news!

Tomorrow night (Thursday, December 17th) is the online holiday party for the literary agency that I'm with. In celebration of the holiday, they're holding a chat featuring my book, co-authored with the amazing Cecil Murphey, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES. Here are the details! Please join us for the fun!



And the winner of last week's CHRISTMAS MIRACLES contest is....

Llehn!

Please e-mail me directly with your snail mail information at marley.h.gibson AT gmail DOT com. I'll do my best to get it to you before Christmas.

And finally....some AMAZING news for my GHOST HUNTRESS series. My awesome film agent, Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of my literary agent, Deidre Knight, has SOLD the option to GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING to Shoulderhill Productions with the intention of making it into a feature film!!! Whoooohoooo!!! Merry Christmas to me! LOLOL!!!

Hope to see you at the TKA chat tomorrow night!

Hugs and Happy Holidays,
Marley = )

Not To Be Left Out (aka More News) Plus Mermaids

Following up on Heather's News From NYC, I have some news of my own to share. (And some of it is related to Heather's news because it involves HarperTeen!)

1. The first review for GODDESS BOOT CAMP is in ... and it's lovely!
2. Last week I finalized a deal for my next two books at HarperTeen (technically Katherine Tegen Books). The first, a mermaid story called FORGIVE MY FINS, will come out in 2010 and the untitled TBA sequel to follow ... sometime after.

In honor of my sale (and my lovable, frizzy-haired, half-mermaid heroine, Lily Sanderson) I'm going to share some of my fave mermaid stories.

SPLASH -- Is there a child of the 80s (girls anyway) who didn't love this movie? It's about a guy (Tom Hanks) who was saved by a mermaid (Daryl Hannah) as a child and the love story that develops between Allen and Madison as she tries to keep her secret on dry land. I could watch this movie a million times. I think maybe I have--I used to have it on vhs. I probably wore out the tape. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to be Madison, how much I wished that the next time I took a bath I would suddenly sprout a fin. (Sadly, that never happened. Not even with salt water. Sigh.) Lily has Madison's long, pale blonde hair, but she's, um, a little (a lot) smarter.

THE LITTLE MERMAID -- One of my fave Disney movies of all-time. This came out when I was in high school and my best friend and I just fell in love. Poor Ariel trying to get her charming Prince Eric to kiss her when she doesn't have her voice! She was such a (pardon the bad pun, but you knew it was coming) fish out of water. And the songs. I still sing the songs. (I'm singing them right now. Just be very, very glad you're not here. My voice does not sound like Ariel's.) Lily shares Ariel's fascination with all things human (which isn't exactly surprising, since Lily's mom was human) but her love life is a little more complicated.

H2O -- This is a totally fun Australian TV series on Nick about three average teenage girls ... who just happen to be mermaids. I've only seen a couple of episodes, but I have my dvr set. Two major bonuses to this series: (1) Australian accents, and (2) Australian boys with Australian accents. Yum. Unfortunately, there are no Australian accents in FORGIVE MY FINS (which takes place in south Florida) but there are biker boys, swim studs, and messenger gulls.

Okay, have I missed any? What are your favorite mermaids or mermaid stories? I need to know. Seriously. For research purposes. (Okay, maybe technically FINS is already written, so it might be because I just love watching a good mermaid story. Maybe.)

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com