So much fun being interviewed by the lovely Liem Vu on The Global Morning Show! Also, really happy I let social media choose my outfit for me – good call everyone! đ
FollowSUMMER CONSTELLATIONS = The Perfect Summer Read!
Sevignyâs (Kissing Frogs, 2014) portrayal of the emotional and financial struggles that can accompany illness in America ring true. Julia is a brave, independent, and competent female character who shows that you donât need to be a femme fatale to be lovable. A pleasant coming-of-age story for fans of teen romance.
â Kirkus Reviews
This is a fast-paced, humorous and romantic story, with realistic dialogue and a cast of interesting and relatable characters. The relationship dynamics between Nick and Julia are immensely readable, but teens will also be driven to keep reading to discover what happens to Julia and her familyâs campground. VERDICT Recommended for collections serving teens, especially where romance is in demand.
â School Library Journal
Readers will enjoy Juliaâs droll narration and appreciate her tough situation and conflicted feelings for Nick. Sure, the story evolves into a fairy-tale romance with a miraculous resolution, but who wouldnât want to daydream about a perfect prince showing up to help save the day?
â Booklist
I devoured this story in one sitting. I couldnât put it down and found myself captivated by the romance sparking between Nick and Julia. Thereâs so much bad in their past that it helps them to bond and itâs also very real to others who have dealt with relatives dying or the impending loss of a home. The ending is one of the best Iâve read in a while and I loved how everything came together.
â YA Bookshelf
A coming of age tale with an environmental angle, Summer Constellations, sparkles with humour and sizzles with a dreamy romance, hitting all the right notes, leaving the reader satisfied. An excellent choice for those who enjoy a smart summer romance layered with varied and well developed characters who are as natural and refreshing as a summer breeze off the lake.â
â BR Myers
If you have never been so far into the wilderness that there was no light pollution at all, you are missing out on an incredible experience. Those of us who have been there, will recognize the authorâs authenticity. It is impossible to fake a proper description of the vastness of the summer sky at night if youâve never seen it with your own eyes. This setting is the perfect place for romance to bloom⊠This is a feel good tale about overcoming adversity when the odds are stacked against you, with a side of young love that will have teen readers sighing with anticipation and older readers looking back at that time in their lives with nostalgia.
â Amieâs Book Reviews
Book Trailer for SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS (extended version ;)
Watch the author make a fool out of herself promoting her new book, SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS!
Available for 30% off at Chapters Indigo!!! (Methinks it’s a Mother’s Day promotion?)
The hardcover is also discounted on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble
Also available at fine book retailers everywhere! Order a copy, support a Canadian writer and get a great read in the process.
And if you’re lovely enough to have already bought the book, please leave a review and help keep this author writing!
xoxo
Alisha
Book Tour & Giveaway Links for Summer Constellations
I’m excited to announce the book tour for SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS, which will be taking place over the next two weeks. KCP Loft will be partnering with Rock Star Book Tours to feature author interviews, guest posts and sneak-peak excerpts in advance of the book’s May 1st release date. Join in the fun for the chance to win great prizes and take part in exciting giveaways!
April 23 – Bookhounds – Author Interview & Giveaway ALISHA SEVIGNY has wonderful words! SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS Ends 5.7
April 24 – Jessica’s Reading Room – ReviewÂ
“If Summer Constellations  had been published when I was a teenager, it would have most likely been one of my favorite books! It is a perfect summer read for a teen girl… I am not the target demographic for this novel, but I still enjoyed it! If you have a teen daughter, let her read this novel.”
April 24th – Review & Giveaway from UK site Books and Ladders!
“Overall, this is a great novel. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a good beach read and summer romance novel.”
April 25th – This is One for The Books – Review
“The imagery was so well written that I felt like I was sitting on the dock at the cottageâmeanwhile it was probably close to -20 degrees Celsius and snowing outside…its target audience is 14-18; however, it can definitely be enjoyable for someone older than that.”
April 26th – The Candid Cover – ReviewÂ
“Summer Constellations tells the story of a headstrong girl fighting to save her familyâs campsite while also falling for its potential buyerâs son. I always love summery reads, but I donât think Iâve ever read a book in which the main character owns a campsite. This book is light yet serious, and it contains a strong bond between siblings bound to make you smile.”
April 27th – Here’s to Happy Endings – Review & Giveaway
“This is such a beautiful and emotional novel, from the inside out… I loved it from the very beginning. The emotional story that the author has created, with both plenty of focus on the family and yet a summer love interest, really tugs at the heart. This is the perfect book to enjoy for the summer, whether you are reading it at the lake or beach or curled up on a porch swing with a glass of iced tea on a warm summer night.”
April 29th – Hello Jenny Reviews Review & Author Interview
“This book is such an amazing story. It definitely isn’t your every day summer contemporary.. this is the perfect book to read when you are looking for a summer read with more depth… This book really took me by surprise. I am not HUGE into contemporaries. They all seem like a regurgitation of a previous contemporary with some name changes. But not this book. I found the authors writing to be a breath of fresh air and the story, while ordinary, was still extraordinary. If you are building a Summer reading list then please make sure this book is on it!”
April 30th – Wonder Struck Synopsis and Giveaway
May 1st – Novel Novice – Author Interview and Giveaway
5/2/2018- laura’s bookish corner – Review and Giveaway
5/3/2018- Simply Daniel Radcliffe – Review and Giveaway
5/4/2018- Pretty Little Library – Review, Excerpt and Giveaway
German Cover of Summer Constellations!
Check out the gorgeous German cover of SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS (translated to MY SHOOTING STAR SUMMER) coming May 20th/18 from the fabulous Ravensburger. And below, my beautiful North American cover, which is available now for pre-order from KCP Loft and launches May 1st! (Fun Fact: Pre-orders count towards the first week of sales, helping to make it more likely a book will hit bestselller lists!)
Out May 20/18 with Ravensburger in Germany.
Available for pre-order on Amazon, Chapters, B&N and other fine retailers in Hard Cover AND Paperback!
5 Reasons to Pre-Order a Book
Available for pre-order on Amazon, B&N, Chapters Indigo and other fine retailers!
Summer Constellations comes out in two months! If you’ve pre-ordered the book, please let me know and I will send a signed postcard of this gorgeous cover designed by the talented Emma Dolan! (It makes a fab bookmark đ )
How does pre-ordering help authors? Lots of ways! Here are some below:
1. Lock in discount prices and great giveaways!Â
Most publishers will offer discounted rates for pre-orders, so it’s a win-win! In addition, they or the author may throw in fun incentives for readers. For example, see postcard promo mentioned above.
2. Pre-orders help build buzz for launch day.
Giving people the chance to buy the book in advance increases anticipation and allows for buzz to (hopefully!) build. Plus, there’s the added bonus of not having to remember to buy the book – it just shows up on your doorstep. Who doesn’t love seeing the Amazon delivery person pull up with a package that you’ve half-forgotten about ordering? (Or is that just me? đ ).
3. Pre-orders increase the odds a book may hit a bestseller list.
This one’s huge! Pre-orders count toward first-week sales, and since many bestseller lists are calculated on a single weekâs worth of sales, bundling those early sales into that first week gives authors their best chance of hitting a bestseller list, which in turn, helps the overall life of the book (and the author).
4. Pre-orders encourage retailers to increase the amount of books they order.
When buyers for retailers like Amazon, B&N and Chapters Indigo see strong pre-order numbers, theyâll likely increase their initial order, which brings more books into stores and increase the chance of people coming into contact with the author’s work.
5. Support your Author Friend/Family Member/Person You Used to Go to High School With and Kinda Like Still
Let’s get personal. Writing can be a solitary, intense and extremely tumultuous gig, (there’s a reason Hemingway drank đ ). Most authors never make over a few thousand a year (if that!) or sell more than a couple hundred copies of their book. Pre-ordering demonstrates your love and support for the author, who, more often than not, leans heavily on their friends and family to encourage them to keep making their art, even when times are tough. (At least I know I do!)
So there you have it! Five reasons to pre-order from your favourite author person. Of course, ordering the book at any time is still just fine and dandy, and definitely deserving of a profuse amount of hugs and kisses.
xoxo
Alisha
PS. Kirkus reviews Summer Constellations below!
KIRKUS REVIEW
Recent high school graduate Julia Ducharmeâs summer is off to a rough start.
Her best friend, Paige, is traveling to Japan to visit relatives, her longtime crush has shown up with a gorgeous girlfriend, and her mom has announced that she is thinking of selling their family campground and home. Juliaâs little brother Caleb is recovering from Guillain-BarrĂ© syndrome and is old enough to realizeâwith distressâthat their financial troubles are connected to his long illness. After receiving the terrible news that her home may be sold, Julia meets a beautiful black-haired, olive-skinned stranger on the docks and spills her guts to him. She is shocked and angry to discover that the young man is Nick Constantine, son of the property developer who is looking to buy their campground. Julia and Nick are thrown together, and Nick falls in love both with the campground and Julia, deciding to do all that he can to help them keep their place, or at least keep its integrity intact. Sevignyâs (Kissing Frogs, 2014) portrayal of the emotional and financial struggles that can accompany illness in America ring true. Julia is a brave, independent, and competent female character who shows that you donât need to be a femme fatale to be lovable.
A pleasant coming-of-age story for fans of teen romance. (Fiction. 14-18)
Tips and Tricks for those Writing (or thinking about writing) a Book!
Hi, Everyone!
Being a writer is full of ups and downs – aching disappointments like when your lovely indie press closes up shop đ and pee-your-pants happy moments like when someone tells you how much they loved your work! đ (*I may have several more of this type than the average person, having had two children).
I plan to share it all here from the very beginning, from inspiration to publication with a series of posts on everything from writing habits, choosing your setting, developing your characters, plot escapades, editing, editing and more editing, and the arduous road to getting published. Drawing on my experiences from both sides of the coin as a writer AND a former literary agent, my mission is to inspire anyone out there who has ever thought about or wanted to write a book, or who just wants to be entertained!
If there are any particular subjects you’re interested in or would like to learn more about (for example: What are agents really looking for in a query letter?), please leave a comment below and I will do my best to cover them!
I leave you with one of my favourite (and very popular) quotes on writing from Ernest Hemingway.
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed.”
Let’s bleed together!
Alisha
(PS. That sounds a little creepy, but you get the idea).
An image evoking the world I wanted to create for readers of Kissing Frogs!
Giveaway Winner Announced!
Thanks so much to everyone who entered last month’s giveaway! Watch the video to see who won an autographed copy of John Green’s TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN and signed ARC of SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS!
Stay tuned for more fun contests and giveaways as we gear up for launch May 1st! Links to pre-order below!
xoxo
Alisha
Pre-order Summer Constellations in hard cover or paperback on Amazon (US)
Pre-order Summer Constellations in hard cover or paperback on Amazon (Canada)
Pre-order Summer Constellations in hard cover or paperback on Chapters (Canada)
5 Fun Facts About SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS
Many of you may have seen the bee-you-tiful cover for SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS, (out May 1st, 2018) but here are some fun facts about the book you might find interesting. Or not. (You’re just here for the signed John Green, aren’t you? That’s cool.)
Me & my bro out for a hike back home
1). The setting is loosely based on the campground Lakelse Lake, near my hometown of Kitimat, BC, in the remote wilds of the Pacific Northwest.
What up, Katniss?
2). Summer Constellations is being published by Kids Can Press (Franklin The Turtle, Scaredy Squirrel, etc.) under their new LOFT imprint, helmed by the lovely Kate Egan, editor extraordinaire of THE HUNGER GAMES. It boggles the mind.
3). Talented freelance designer Emma Dolan designed the cover without ever knowing about our family’s Ontario cottage where we spend each summer – and the resemblance is uncanny.
Is that not cray-cray?!
The only major difference is I’m cozying up to my 6-year-old daughter on the right (as opposed to a hunky 20-year-old, but other than that… đ )
4). Emma Dolan also (highly coincidentally) designed the cover for my first novel, KISSING FROGS! 
5). From start to finish this book will have taken four years to produce, what with the writing, editing, submission process (that’s when it gets sent to editors), acquisitions, more editing, marketing, and finally, waiting (a year!) for the release date.
BONUS: SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Chapters and other fine book retailers in Canada and the US. Pre-ordering is a great way to show an author your support!
xoxo
Alisha
PS. Don’t forget to sign up for a chance to win! US and Canada only.
#authorlove – The Grimhunters by Kobi Madsen
Today on #authorlove we have an inspirational young man, Kobi Madsen, chatting about his new book The Grimhunters and his experiences writing and publishing his novel.
Available on Amazon
What genre would you classify The Grimhunters as?
The genre of my book is Horror/Thriller/Mystery if that makes sense. It tells the story of a young boy, named Victor, who moves from Seattle to the fictional town of Roarke Montana with his family. There he meets an eccentric old man on the lakeshore who warns Victor of its perils. Disregarding the manâs advice, Victor investigates and discovers something far more dark than he could possibly imagine.
Where did you get the idea for the book?
When I was nine years old I had a nightmare in which I was the main character of my book. I lived on a lake with my family and we were being stalked by something inhuman. I forgot the nightmare but around seventeen I had a similar one. I was both excited and disappointed when I woke up because I had no idea how it would end. This was when I realized I wanted to write a series of horror books. I immediately sat down and started printing a rough copy that would become my first novel years later. I had a teacher at school, Ana Pires, who was very supportive and encouraged me to continue to write. But once I’d finished I was lost in terms of what to do next. It was only after 3 or 4 years of sitting on it that by chance my aunt, who was in the process of publishing her children’s books, gave me advice and some contacts to get my book published.
Do you have any advice for aspiring young writers?
I guess my advice would be to write if you are driven to do so and if it makes you feel good doing it. Know that the first book is probably the hardest but if you can get through that, the rest is gravy. I made several copies of my book, which started out on scrap paper. Moving forward, I transferred my text onto computer making re-writes easier. At some point there isn’t much more you can do to improve the words so I reached out to others to help me edit.
What did you enjoy the most about the publishing process? Was there anything in particular that you found challenging?
The easiest part of this process for me was the writing itself, as that was something I could do on my own and within my own time frame. I would say the hardest part has been the promoting of my book as this involved personal contact with people in an area where I was very unsure of myself. Part of this was due to the fact that this is my first book and part of it might be due to my autism, which I was diagnosed with at age four and can make things difficult for me in social settings. I’ve faced challenges growing up with this condition but have never let this hold me back from doing the things I’ve wanted to do in my life. I’ve had many wonderful people in my family and life support me, and when it came to writing I think it actually helped me focus and be committed to doing the work. I hope that others look at me as an example of what hard work and commitment can achieve.
Who would you cast in the Netflix series?
We might be getting a little ahead of ourselves but I could see someone like Jack Nicholson playing the role of the hermit Willy and maybe Ryan Gosling as Victor to make the ladies happy. Steven could be played by someone like Mark Whalberg just to throw a total twist into the picture. Wouldn’t it be cool if Johnny Depp played the werewolf in my first book and then took on the role of the demon/monster in every book?
Do you plan to write any more books?
My plan for this book and the future are to write additional books as part of the Grimhunters series. I am currently writing the second book and so far I’ve had no problems coming up with ideas for the book. My main character, Victor, will face a new horror in each book, as he becomes a hunter himself. You’ll have to stay tuned for all the surprises as this book evolves.
Check out Kobi’s Facebook Page, Instagram or website and don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Grimhunters available for purchase on Amazon.
