• Teens Read Too posted a great review of Albatross by Josie Bloss. In part:

ALBATROSS is a powerful, insightful novel that centers on a problem in relationships that has unfortunately become all too common. Readers will feel like the people who witness those being emotionally abused in a relationship, and want to try so hard to tell that person to get away from the abuser, but are unable to fully control the situation. Josie Bloss constructs a realistic portrayal of such frightening yet truthful experiences of abuse that will exert a passion in readers to take action when they witness or are themselves in an abusive relationship.

• Cynthia Leitich Smith of Cynsations posted an interview with Sara Beitia (who has a blog and didn’t tell her agent — bad author!)
• Matthew Cody was at NY Comic Con last weekend to moderate a panel and sign copies of Powerless. Suvudu got a video interview. And hey, speaking of Powerless, wouldn’t it make an AWESOME Cybils nominee? This blogger thinks so, and I agree!
• Finally, Ransom Riggs has a cool post up at Mental Floss about his “found snapshots” collection, and the things people write on the back of pictures. Some things never change.

Have you found anything cool on the internet lately I might have missed? Link ‘em in the comments!

But I did want to make sure you saw the fantastic interview with Josie Bloss than Meg Cabot posted on her blog! Please do check it out, and consider picking up your own copy of Albatross!

My favorite part may be the picture of Josie and Meg at one of Meg’s signings years before. It reminds me of a picture of myself from college, when some friends and I went down to New Orleans over Spring Break, and I insisted on our visiting Anne Rice’s house in the Garden District. (I was a huge fan of her vampire books, looooooong before the current vampire publishing phase.) We were looking at the outside when who should pull up but Anne Rice herself! So yeah, I totally got a picture — and years later, when I worked at Janklow & Nesbit, I got to work on some of her books!

What authors have you met that inspired you in some way?

Taut and emotionally wrenching… I couldn’t put it down. Josie Bloss is an author to watch.

Josie, take it away!

I was inspired to write Albatross after realizing something important from personal experience – the obsession that sometimes accompanies infatuation can be a terrible thing.

There are plenty of YA books that depict the intensity of first love as sweet and wonderful. I wrote about it in Band Geek Love, in which the main character, Ellie Snow, was drawn out of her defensive shell by devoted Conner. Even if Ellie and Conner weren’t meant to be together forever, it was a formative and positive relationship for Ellie and helped her become a better and more mature person.

But sometimes the object of our affection is not…deserving. Sometimes a crush is manipulative, knows the power he or she has and uses it to take advantage. If it involves the wrong person, sometimes an infatuation doesn’t fill us with light and happiness but instead drags us down into the worst parts of ourselves. Into jealousy and darkness and self-destruction where we molder away until we find the strength to climb out again.

That’s what happens to Tess, the main character of Albatross, when she moves to a new town after escaping her controlling and emotionally abusive dad. In the midst of that turmoil, Tess meets and becomes entranced by Micah, an intense and (literally) biting boy who knows exactly how to manipulate and push all of her buttons. Her intense pseudo-relationship with Micah progresses as he gives her just enough to keep her hanging on. Tess becomes obsessed with the girl she considers her competition for Micah’s affection, lies to her mom, and neglects all her other friendships. Because of her infatuation, Tess slowly turns into a version of herself that she despises. It’s only when she finds the strength to confront her dad that Tess is able to really face what her screwed-up relationship with Micah has become.

I sometimes joke with friends that writing this book-of-my-heart almost ended me, that I felt like I was going through every wretched minute of confusion and despair with Tess as she fought her way through her obsession with Micah and out the other side. But the payoff feels worth it. My favorite stories are about a girl casting off her demons and finding her inner-badass, which Tess most certainly does. And I still tear up (happily) whenever I read the last page. Tess is my hero.

Remember, you can win a copy of Albatross by commenting on yesterday’s post with a story about a high school experience that involved music. Or you can order your own copy at Amazon, B&N, or your favorite independent bookseller.

As you may have read in Josie’s interview on the Flux website, music plays a part in Albatross, just as it did in Band Geek Love and Band Geeked Out. In order to enter the contest, tell me in the comments how music played a part in your high school life. Intern Jenny and I will pick the best, most entertaining story to win a copy of Albatross on Wednesday!

But let’s not leave out fans of Maureen Johnson, and the eagerly anticipated sequel to Suite Scarlett. The Kirkus review I linked to the other day gives a little hint about a plot point — Spencer gets a role on an insanely popular tv show. To win a copy of Scarlett Fever, imagine you’ve got a high powered talent agent like Mrs. Amberson, and tell me what show YOU’D want a role on, and what that role would be. Again, Jenny and I will look through the comments on Wednesday and decide which special guest star performance we’d most want to watch.

So have some fun in the comments, and good luck! And if you just can’t wait to win, may I suggest IndieBound to find a local independent bookstore where you can buy your very own copy of Albatross or Scarlett Fever — or both?

UPDATE: The contest is now extended to next Wednesday, February 10th. Good luck!

Music geeks walk the fine line between love and unhealthy obsession. Despite her friends’ warnings about his creepy behavior, Tess falls for intense, pretentious Micah. From the start of their relationship, Micah never fails to let Tess know that she is second to his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Daisy. Micah ignores Tess, makes remarks about her dumb, shallow friends and bites her hard enough to leave a mark, but Tess can’t get him out of her head. Her tolerance of Micah’s behavior echoes the way her mother handled her distant, critical father. Once she finds the bravery to stand up to her dad, she also finds a way to break off from Micah. Bloss shows the ways that emotional bullying can affect a supposedly loving relationship and how one teen repeats—and breaks—the cycle of abuse. Though some moments of Tess’s growth in strength are rendered heavy-handedly, her story will wrench hearts. Girls who believe in the swept-off-her-feet romance may see that a “perfect” boy’s veneer can hide an ugly, domineering personality.(Fiction. YA)

Gratz to Josie!!

The book releases on February 1st — won’t you preorder your copy today at your favorite bookstore?

Bookshelves of Doom has a few words for Maureen Johnson. Namely:

ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME INTO A CRAZY PERSON? How could you leave me hanging like that? Seriously? The only thing that stopped my agonized “GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” from actually being verbalized was the fact that I was reading under the blankets with a flashlight, trying desperately not to wake my snoring husband. You, madame, are a monster. Also, I am way tired this morning. So thanks for that, too.

Also, is it gross that I’m kind of in love with Spencer?

For the record, no, not gross at all. Click through for the rest of the review.

Over on the Flux blog, they’ve got a great interview up with Josie Bloss about Albatross, and it’s similarities and differences with her previous Band Geek books. An excerpt:

FLUX: The tone in Albatross is more serious than your previous two books. Here, you’ve chosen a far darker story and style. What inspired this change?

JB: Though the story is darker, I think the themes of a girl finding her voice and her inner strength are quite similar to the Band Geek books. Honestly, this is a story that called to me and demanded to be written. I was going through a tough time in my personal life and when my world is upside down, it can be difficult to think or write about anything else. I borrowed significant parts of my own experiences for this book. In some ways, Albatross was my therapy and my method of productively processing these difficult experiences . . . and it’s a fist-bump to other people dealing with similar situations. Sometimes you just need to hear that you’re not alone.

Also included on the Flux blog is a excerpt — check it out!

But wait, there’s more! Author Elana Johnson on Ellen Booraem‘s The Unnameables: “Holy blazes, the woman knows how to use the right words to tell the story.”

And the pun-derfully titled Prose and Kahn says Powerless by Matthew Cody, “is an awesome debut novel and will not be a shelf sitter.” Woot!

And finally, the winner of a book of their choice on Tuesday’s entry is… *drumroll*… Comment #8 (thanks to Random.org). Jean, I’ll email you for your address and book preference!

Full disclosure: By my nature as a literary agent, I get a commission on sales of books by my clients, through any eventual royalties. My links to the Amazon pages of their titles also earns me a small fee, if you click through and buy a copy.

So, with that carrot dangling before you, what I love to know from you is what else you’d like to see here at kt literary. More questions answered? More live blogs of my queries? More stats and numbers? More links to reviews of books by our clients? More contests? More of my own reviews of books I’ve read for pleasure? More Web Monkey? More shoes? Or something else entirely? Do you want more regular features? Like, every Monday we post reviews and every Wednesday I hand over some publishing advice? Or do you like it random?

Let me know your thoughts, with the caveat that I may not be able to do everything you ask for, but I will do my best to respond to your comments. Bear in mind, too, that my answering more questions from you and posting more About My Queries, for instance, requires additional help from you.

Thanks! Comment to win!

But which review was the best? And how do you quantify “best” when it comes to reviews? Justine Larbalestier had a post recently on the topic of reviews, but for my part, I enjoy a review that makes me rethink my own reaction to a book, and has me wondering again what it means. To my mind, then, there are TWO winners of this contest, JJ and Anna. JJ’s is a little more spoiler-iffic, but both hers and Anna’s had me contemplating my reaction to the book again, and that can only be good. So, guys, send me an email with your addresses, and I’ll keep you each off a copy of Band Geeked Out by Josie Bloss.

And speaking of Josie, have you seen the gorgeous cover for her forthcoming book Albatross? Check out my clients’ page, or Josie’s blog, and don’t miss the Meg Cabot quote which calls it:

“Taut and emotionally wrenching… I couldn’t put it down. Josie Bloss is an author to watch.”

I hope you’ll agree!