Snowball just leads elves on, elves and Santas.

He is playing a dangerous game.

- Holidays on Ice (1997) by David Sedaris

_______

Book Trailer for The Lost Saint by Bree Despain.

Contains spoilers for The Dark Divine.

I’m in lust with the new Francesca Lia Block cover, just so you know.

The sexy bloody mouth close-up is becoming a tad overused (see: Jennifer’s Body and True Blood below), but a hot cover is a hot cover. I love the bloody candy, that fabulous lipstick, and the close crop. Even the font has me salivating. UNF.

Work it out, designers. Work. It. Out.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

[Available March 9, 2010]

I love love LOVED The Forest of Hands and Teeth, so I am super hyped about this companion novel.

Gone by Lisa McMann

OPEN YOUR EYES.
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.
She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves–she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life–and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out…

[Available February 9, 2010]

I am also a HUGE fan of the Wake series, making Gone a Must Read ASAP. And, in case you missed it, check out this post for a link to McMann’s new short story, chronicling Wake from Cabel’s point of view.

For those interested, Barnes and Noble is starting up a Teen section of its First Look program and the first book is Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

So, if you want to check out Hush, Hush for free, months before it hits stores, head on over to B&N before supplies run out. Then, join in on the discussion with other readers and Fitzpatrick in September.

Seriously guys, I’m way excited here!
GO GO GO!

Lisa McMann, author of the Wake series, has updated her blog with a new widget and, more importantly, a new story about Cabel. The story focuses on the events of Wake from Cabel’s point of view.
Although this idea sounds a little familiar, at least we know McMann won’t throw a hissy fit and threaten to kill off everyone if we read it.

I’m already eagerly awaiting the release of Gone, so this little snippet has got me squee-ing.

To read the short story, click the widget above and sign up for the PDF download.

I have so much booklust right now, I’m going to make this weekly installment a twofer.  Here’s my picks eagerly anticipated books–one coming soon, and one coming a little later.

Meridian by Amber Kizer

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

[Available August 11, 2009]

Beautiful Creatures by Kim Garcia and Margaret Stohl

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

[Available December 1, 2009]

Both novels have that spark of supernatural I love so much.

Plus, I love me some eerie South stories; it feels like home.