Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Authors Are Rockstars Tour Stop - Melissa West!! Guest Post & Quadruple Giveaway!

Welcome, book lovers to my stop on the Authors are Rockstars tour!!

Today I'm featuring the author of the upcoming YA sci-fi romance Gravity,
  Melissa West! 

So, what makes Melissa a rock star?  Well, aside from writing a book that I've been salivating over for many, many months now, with an epic cover that is absolutely to die for and one of the best, most intriguing taglines out there? Here's what gives her rock star status to me: she's also a mommy, a wife, a collector of shoes (really, what good rock star isn't?), and she totally owns being a sore loser at Monopoly. :)  Now, I totally thought she rocked before, but then I found out this little tidbit:
 Melissa has commited to donating 10% of all sales of the entire Gravity series to the American Cancer Society. 
Wow. Just wow.  Her reasons for doing this are incredibly touching, and I'll let you read about it in her own words here.  But as some of you know, I'm a cancer warrior myself, so if you ask me, this incredibly generous act not only makes her a rock star, it makes her a bona fide hero of mine. :)  So, to show my gratitude, I'll be purchasing four copies---one for me, of course LOL---and three for giveaway! Check out the giveaways down below to win one!


In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Gravity comes out October 16th, 2012 from Entangled Teen.


About Melissa:

Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and Madeleine L'Engle.

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

GRAVITY is her first book.



Guest Post:
Melissa's thoughts on making characters readers can relate to…even if they aren’t human:

It’s interesting that this topic was presented to me as I’ve been thinking a lot lately over what bonds a reader to a character. I think it’s easy to understand why we fall for characters like Katniss Everdeen. She may not be the most presentable lady. She isn’t funny. She isn’t cute. But she’s brave. She’s loyal. She cares more about her family than anything—than what’s right, what’s legal, what’s expected of her. That sort of determined love is admirable. Couple that deep love with her skill and bravery and suddenly it’s easy to understand why we root for her.

I think the traits that bond us to Katniss, or even to a person in our everyday lives, also apply to characters that aren’t human. The key is to make those nonhuman characters humane in their actions, in their emotions, in the way the human characters in our books sympathize with them. Suddenly we no longer care that “X” is a vampire, or werewolf, or angel, or demon…or alien.

Hopefully, readers quickly forget that Jackson is an alien and instead view him as the kick ass, super hot guy that he is. ;)

And now for the giveaways! 
#1 - Entangled Teen has generously provided an e-book of Gravity for giveaway!   
#2 - And as promised, I'm giving away three pre-ordered Gravity paperbacks.  
Both giveaways are open internationally. Must be 13 or older. You may enter both giveaways using the rafflecopter forms below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, everyone, and thanks for stopping by my Authors are Rockstars tour stop!

42 comments :

  1. Ah! This book takes place in the future. I'm DEFINITELY adding it to my TBR list. I also like how she attributes our connections with characters to respectable traits and the fact that they're unique. I have to say that I agree!

    Thank you for stopping by!

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  2. I'm dying for this book to come out!! And I love the cover too, can't wait to meet Jackson! ;)

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  3. Sounds like a great book! I can't wait to read it!

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  4. I totally think that Melissa West is a rockstar. I mean, I couldn't quite get past the fact that I am dying to read her book, her cover is ah-mazing and that tagline is totally phenom.

    But I had no idea she was amazingly generous too! I will totally check out that post when I'm done with work tonight. Just in case there are tears.

    But I totally agree about what the author said about relatable characters. Making characters that aren't human, humane, is definitely a way to make us see them in ways we can understand and connect with.

    I definitely can't wait to make that connection with her character, Jackson, in gravity. Where "alien" is what he is, but not why I love him.

    Awesome post and thanks for the added giveaway! And thank you most of all for being a part of the tour!

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  5. This book has been on my TBR list for awhile! I really can't wait till it comes out! Melissa is such an amazing person because she will be donating 10% of her sales of the Gravity series to American Cancer Society. Just gotta love her! =)

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  6. I <3 Melissa West so much! She's an amazing person.

    And this has been my most anticipated title since I first heard about it in April. Can. not. wait! I've actually already pre-ordered a copy, but love to have an extra to giveaway to a friend! :D

    BTW, love your blog! New follower. :)

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  7. I love Melissa and she is such a rockstar! I have been dying for Gravity! It's my WoW of the week and I bug her publicist daily for it lol.

    Thanks so much for being a tour stop Becky <3333

    -Jaime

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  8. I want to read this book so bad!! Thanks for the chance to win :)

    It's hard to find characters that we can relate to. And like she said, it's not about being perfect or pretty, it's all about their flaws (and what they stand for)!

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  9. I cannot wait for this book to be released!!! The wait has been SOOOooooooooooooo long.

    Love the cover

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  10. Thank you so much for having me, Becky, and for so generously offering up 3 copies of GRAVITY. Certainly, this book is special to me for many reasons, but mostly due to my father. So, again, thank you! And thanks for all the super sweet comments. *hugs and love*

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  11. I've had my eye on this one for a while! I can't wait to read it!

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  12. Gravity sounds SO good, gotta find out what happens with Ari & Jackson lol :D
    Thanks to both you and Melissa for the wonderful giveaway <3
    Mary DeBorde M.A.D.

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  13. I'm excited to read this one - I love a super hot alien! Thanks for offering the giveaway!

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  14. This sounds like a fantastic read. Definitely added to my to read list! Thanks for the giveaway chance.

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  15. I want this book so bad! It has been on my wish list forever. Thank you for this awesome giveaway!

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  16. Can't wait to read this! And I love the cover!

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  17. I think you're entirely right when you say that the traits that draw us to human characters, be they in books or in real life, are the same ones that draw us to non-human characters. Those are the positive, loving, caring things we all think are necessary.

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  18. Wow, it IS amazing that she's donating that money. You rock, Melissa! Also, I totally agree with the guest post.

    Thanks for the giveaway! :)

    -Julianna
    (Check out my #AARS post here!.)

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  19. I loooove the cover and thanks for the giveaway.

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  20. Been waiting for this one to come out, hope it lives up to the hype!

    Thanks for the chance to win it!

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  21. This book has been on my wishlist forever!! Thank you so much for the giveaway!

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  22. What an awesome post and author! Thanks so much for participating!

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  23. Can't wait until release day! I'm so excited about this book!! :) Thank you for the international giveaway.

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  24. I'm dying to read this book! Love this post :)

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  25. OMG!!! Gravity sounds AMAZING!!!
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  26. I love that cover! I can't wait to read this book.
    Thanks a lot for the giveaway :)

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  27. Thank you for a great stop. I hadn't heard of Gravity but now it's going on my want pile. Thanks for a great giveaway.

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  28. This book sounds amazing! Can't wait to read!

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  29. Such an awesome sounding book. :D

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  30. I've been looking forward to this book forever! Can't WAIT until October!

    Your points about Katniss are excellent, and made me realize that what makes her even more relatable is that she's not ONLY loyal and devoted. She has complicated feelings about her mother and about her sister (later in the series). She's not perfect--and most of us have felt the resentment and guilt and obligation that she does.

    Nicely said!

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  31. Can't wait!! Sounds amazing:D

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  32. This one is on my TBR list. As a nurse, I really appreciate the donation to ACS too!

    - Jessica @ Book Sake

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  33. I have never heard of this book before today and can not believe I've missed it! This is definitely right up my alley and now I can not wait to get myself a copy. Thanks for introducing me ^^

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  34. Thanks for the guest post! I cannot wait for this book to come out!! I've been looking forward to it forever : ) Thanks for the giveaway!!

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  35. I can't wait to read this one. I love anything that has aliens on it!

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  36. This might be a book that I would like so I would love to read it:)

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  37. I totally agree with the guest post. When characters (even the non-human ones) are given humane traits, it's easier to forget about the fact that they aren't real and root for them anyways :)

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  38. Love the cover! Can't wait to read!

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  39. I've been dying to read this one for ages! Thanks so much for the giveaway :D

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  40. Oh, I love this blog post! Melissa is adorable. <3 Sigh. I am dying to read Gravity :) Thank you for this amazing giveaway :D
    Love, Carina

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