lisa and laura write

Sunday, June 12, 2011

CONGRATULATIONS POSSESSION Spread the Word Winners!

Congratulations go out to the following five winners!

Kira B

Laura

Perla M.
minhchieu tran
donnas

You all should have emails waiting in your inbox.

Thanks to EVERYONE for helping us spread the word about the awesome that is POSSESSION. For the rest of you who entered? No worries. Just click and buy to join in the fun! Easy-peasy.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

It's POSSESSION Saturday!

Don't forget, this is day six of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Ali Cross’s site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow, final winners will be announced!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Happy, happy Friday...

The sisters LiLa are travelling, so just a quickie post today and a bonus quickie tomorrow and Sunday. Not that kind of quickie (get your mind out of the gutter!), just the, um, normal POSSESSION variety. We'll be back on Monday with more randomness!

Have a fab weekend!
L&L

Don't forget, this is day five of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Christine Fonseca's site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow's giveaway will be hosted at Ali Cross's blog!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Bookanistas: The Summer of the Bear AND bonus celebrations!

Buckle up. This is going to be the longest post on record.

We were sent an ARC of THE SUMMER OF THE BEAR by Bella Pollen and I was instantly intrigued. The title caught my attention and when I did further research, I learned that the story was inspired by Bella's own experience in Scotland's remote Outer Hebrides islands growing up. I'm a total sucker for a true-life-inspired novel and if I know you like I think I know you, you will be too.

What the back cover has to say:

With her fifth novel, critically acclaimed writer and journalist Bella Pollen takes readers into the private dynamics of a family grappling with the loss of father and husband in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, where between elemental beauty and utter bleakness, strange forces are at play.

In 1980 Germany, under Cold War tension, a mole is suspected in the British Embassy. When the clever diplomat Nicky Fleming dies suddenly and suspiciously, it’s convenient to brand him the traitor. But was his death an accident, murder, or suicide? As the government digs into Nicky’s history, his wife, Letty, relocates with her three children to a remote Scottish island hoping to salvage their family. But the isolated shores of her childhood retreat only intensify their distance, and it is Letty’s brilliant and peculiar youngest child, Jamie, who alone holds on to the one thing he’s sure of: his father has promised to return and he was a man who never broke a promise.

Exploring the island, Jamie and his teenaged sisters discover that a domesticated brown bear has been marooned on shore, hiding somewhere among the seaside caves. Jamie feels that the bear may have a strange connection to his father, and as he seeks the truth, his father’s story surfaces in unexpected ways. Bella Pollen has an uncanny ability to capture the unnoticeable moments in which families grow quiet. A novel about the corrosive effects of secrets and the extraordinary imagination of youth, The Summer of the Bear is Pollen’s most ambitious and affecting book yet.

What Lila has to say:I KNOW I've said this about other books, but I'm going to say it again about this one. This book is like nothing I've ever read before. First of all, there's a bear in the main storyline. That is in and of itself unique. But to consider that this novel is based on actual events that occured in the summer of 1980 was really fascinating to me. Bella Pollen tells this story from multiple perspectives, which I have a total soft-spot for. Even better, all of the perspectives are incredibly unique and voiced to a tee--Pollen is basically a character-genius.

Georgie is the eldest daughter and after the sudden/tragic/mysterious death of her father is trying to navigate the aftermath--a new home, a new mother who has shut herself out and a new adult-like perspective. There's also a level of mystery with her storyline because she once traveled to East Germany with her father during the Cold War and the government is investigating this trip closely after his apparent suicide. The reader is left to wonder if Georgie has the missing piece. Then there's Alba, the middle child, who is instantly unlikeable as her evil streak leads her to treat her younger brother with vicious contempt. But you have to sympathize with her because Alba is on the brink of puberty and is left to fend for herself as her mom is basically out of commision as the result of her overwhelming grief. And then there's Jamie, who has special needs but an entirely different, almost genius-level outlook and perspective. The entire family has kept their father's death somewhat of a secret from Jamie to protect him so he's left searching for his lost father as opposed to mourning. We're also offered Letty's perspective as she sifts through the clues surrounding her husband's death and tries to make sense of who her husband really was. AND the bear. Yes, it sounds strange to read snippets from a bear, but it completely works. The bear was raised basically as a human and after its escape, struggled to survive as it never embraced its wild instincts or had forgotten them altogether. Pollen toys with the idea of a hyper-humanized bear and offers the reader snippets into what this could look like. The result is magical and not in the least bit cheesy.
Whew. That's a lot of character. And I didn't even mention the quirky islanders who are peppered into the storyline and add to the mystique of the story. Because they're awesome. And they bring you straight to these remote Scottish islands and plug you right in. Like I said before, character-genius.

At its core, this story is a coming-of-age/coming-to-terms novel about the breakdown of communication. The Cold War was famous for this and is in the backdrop, but we see the major effects that a lack of communication has on the family itself. Everyone is struggling to understand what happened to their beloved father/husband. But in the meantime, they've forgotten how to understand one another. It's one of the more intricate books I've read in a while and I thoroughly enjoyed being thrown into this unique setting with these people who wanted nothing more than to grow. Highly recommend!

Next...our celebrations.

**********************************************************************************

Don't forget, this is day four of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Jamie Harrington's site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow's giveaway will be hosted at Christine Fonseca's blog!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

WTF Wednesday: In Which the Universe KICKS MY A$$

5:30:00 AM: Mumble something that sounds like "Love you" as the husband leaves for work.
5:30:01 AM: Slap on my sleep mask and fall back into a blissfull sleep.
7:11:00 AM: Vaguely hear the kids fighting over who can pee the fastest.
7:11:01 AM: Fall back into a blissful sleep.
7:22:00 AM: Ben is awake.
7:25:03 AM: Confirm that Ben has a fever of 102 degrees.
Universe: 1 Lisa: 0
7:26:27 AM: Feel Ben's top gums and feel two huge lumps where there will eventually be teeth.
Universe: 2 Lisa: 0
7:28:01 AM: Feed Ben and notice there are huge monsoon like clouds looming on the horizon.
7:31:05 AM: Begin somewhat crazed process of getting the kids out of the house before the rain-pocolypse hits.
7:59:01 AM: Pat myself on the back for loading everyone into the car successfully before a drop of rain hits the ground. It's a tie game, bitches.
Universe: 2 Lisa: 2
8:10:02 AM: On the drive to school realize that Jack is wearing a bathing suit, no underwear, no change of clothes and Mia and I are in sundresses and the temperature just dropped from 91 degrees to 64 degrees.
Universe: 3 Lisa: 2
8:20:03 AM: The rain starts pounding our car so hard that I'm 99% sure I saw the Four Horseman of the Apocolypse galloping next to my mom-mobile.
Universe: 4 Lisa: 2
8:35:01 AM: Successfully make it to Jack's school in time to drop him in the car pool line and avoid getting all the kids out of the car in the rain. Take that Universe!
Universe: 4 Lisa: 3
9:23:31 AM: Narrowly avoid hydroplaning on the freeway next to a huge semi. Worst driving conditions ever, but we're all alive and the Universe is my bitch.
Universe: 4 Lisa: 4
9:33:01 AM: Pull into Laura's neighborhood with my fingers crossed that she's left the garage open so I can pull in and avoid getting the kids soaked in the storm of the century.
Universe: 4 Lisa: 5
9:33:15 AM: Begin to manuever the car into the garage and have an instant flashback to my driving test 16 years ago in which I immediately plowed into all 4 orange cones and failed the manueverability section of the test. In one of the most shocking (and potentially destructive) moves in all of history, the instructor passed me anyway. Frank Mangini (Yes, I still remember his name) should be held personally responsible for every single fenderbender I've been involved in since that time. Including, but not limited to: the time I backed into my Grandfather's car on Christmas; the time I backed into my husband's car and just kept driving; and the time I backed into that lady in the minivan in the parking lot.
9:33:16 AM: We all know where this is going, right? Slam into the side of Laura's garage.
Universe: 101 Lisa: -30
9:33:18 AM: Swear a blue streak and then attempt to back out of the garage without hitting Laura's car. Hear a chunk of my car fall off.
Universe: 299 Lisa: -31
9:33:19 AM: Mia asks, "Mommy why did you say, 'Oh $hit'?"
Universe: 300 Lisa: -32
9:33:21 AM: Get out of the car in the pouring rain to assess the damage. It's not good. Part of my door is hanging off the car and there's an unidentified black chunk of my car in the driveway.
9:33:48 AM: Rest my head on the steering wheel and cry a little.
9:34:00 AM: Get the kids out of the car in the pouring rain and take them into the house. By the time we get inside we all look like we've taken a shower with our clothes on.
Universe: 301 Lisa: -33
9:35:00 AM: Test Laura's garage door to make sure I didn't do any permanent damage. It works.
Universe: 301 Lisa: -32
10:05:01 AM: Rain stops, sun is shining and Laura and I head out to my car to assess the damage.
10:10:02 AM: After a detailed analysis of the damage we feel confident the car can be fixed with a hammer and some super glue.
10:15:56 AM: It works!
10:15:57 AM: Kind of.
10:15:59 AM: We can't really figure out what to do with the mystery chunk of car that fell off and into the driveway.
10:16:15 AM: Agree that this part should be hidden in the trunk until further notice.
10:17:00 AM: Step back into Laura's slightly damaged garage and assess our handiwork.
10:17:30 AM: Congratulate each other and and head inside for some tea.
Universe: 301 Lisa: -31
10:18:00 AM: Briefly discuss opening up our own body shop for women who damage their cars and need to fix them quickly so their husbands don't critisize their abysmal manueverability skills.
10:18:08 AM: Remember we have to finish THE LIES THAT BIND by October 1st.
10:18:45 AM: Realize that we can use this for our blog post tomorrow.

FINAL SCORE: Universe: 301 Lisa: 1 (blog post material is worth a lot, people.)

*******************************************************************************

Don't forget, this is day three of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Shannon Messenger's site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow's giveaway will be hosted at Jamie Harrington's blog!

AND now for our winners of a signed copy of POSSESSION!!!!

Congratulations go out to @TheCheyShow and Sarena!
Email us ASAP to claim the best prize ever!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

#TaggedPOSSESSION

Today is THE day! CONGRATULATIONS, Elana. You have a brand new book in this world and she's beautiful. Just beautiful.

So beautiful that we're giving away all sorts of FREE, SIGNED copies throughout the week! In fact, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment in this here blog post. That's right, leave your mark and you might win a copy of your very own! If you're struggling with what to say, tell us which rule you'd most like to break!

If that's not enough, we're also going to be stalking Twitter tonight from 9 PM-10 PM EST searching for folks using the official #taggedPOSSESSION hashtag. If we catch YOU tweeting it, you may just win another FREE, SIGNED copy!

AND, because we enjoy humiliating ourselves in floppy beach hats and smexy shoes, we present the following video for your viewing pleasure. Rest assured, POSSESSION is about 10 bajillion times better than this video.

*********************************************************************************

Don't forget, this is day two of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Lisa and Laura Roecker's site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow's giveaway will be hosted at Shannon Messenger's blog!

***********************************************************************

It's also time to announce the winners of our We <3 Indies Contest!!!! Congratulations Rebecca Knight and Riv Re! Start thinking about which book you'd like us to order for you and email us to claim your prize!

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Backhanded Optimist

I've never really considered myself a glass is half full kind of gal. When bad news comes my way, I tend to react like a soap opera actress, an exquisite blend of tragedy and drama with lots of sobbing and grande gestures thrown in for good measure.

But inevitably as I begin to process the news, things start changing, and within a few days disaster turns into delight. The most recent example of my backhanded optimism in action is when my husband and I decided that it might be time for me to go back to the day job.

Day 1

Husband: Well, if we want to move into a bigger house I think you'll probably have to go back to work.
Me: *Sobbing too hard to respond*
Husband: You worked before, was it really that bad?
Me: Sob gasp sob...writing. Sob gasp sob...neglected children. Sob gasp sob...END OF MY LIFE.
Husband: ....

Day 2

Me: So, I happened to talk to my old manager today and there's a job opening that sounds kind of perfect.
Husband: That's great.
Me: Whatever. I still hate you.

Day 6

Me: The interviews went REALLY well. This is going to be great! It was so nice to catch up with everyone that I used to work with and have a quiet house. I could totally get used to this.
Husband: ....

Day 25

Random friend: So, you're going back to work!
Me: Yeah. I decided that I'd have way more balance in my life if I went back to work. More time to write, the kids are thrilled to be able to go to camps and stuff. I think it's going to be the best of both worlds.
Random friend: Good for you!
Me: I know. Best decision I ever made.
Husband: Sigh.

And, that, my friends, is how you rewrite history. What's funny is that I don't even realize I'm doing it. End up with a book cover you hate? Make a couple of tweaks, write a blog post, add faux pink hair to your profile pic as a joke and take full credit for being a marketing genius! Who needs real optimism when the backhanded version is so much more fun?

**********************************************************************************

Don't forget, this is also day one of the Elana Johnson POSSESSION Launch Festival of Awesome! Today, go to Beth Revis's site and comment to enter to win a signed copy of POSSESSION and learn the secret time that you need to use the Twitter hashtag #taggedPOSSESSION to win another signed copy of POSSESSION!

Meanwhile, don't forget: if you spread the word about POSSESSION, you can win one of FIVE signed copies of the book!

We're giving away 17 signed copies of POSSESSION throughout this week's blog tour--be sure to visit and enter to win! Tomorrow's giveaway will be hosted at right here!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Friends and book releases and PRIZES, oh my!!!!

June's here!!!! You know what that means???? POSSESSION officially releases in T-4 days. Are you as excited as we are? Yes?Yes.

So: help us show Elana some love and celebrate her book's release!

All next week, we're hosting a mini-love-tour for Elana and POSSESSION--with prizes every single day. We're pulling out all the stops: there's vlogs and blogs and Twitter and more!

We have tons of copies of POSSESSION to give away--all signed by our amazing Elana (and since Shannon contacted her publicist, this is all one big huge surprise for Elana!)

Meanwhile, we really want to get the word out to people about Elana, her book, and this launch extravaganza! So, to entice you to share the love, we have FIVE SIGNED COPIES OF POSSESSION to give to people who spread the word about POSSESSION. There are LOTS of ways to win--and everything you do garners you more entries!

To enter, just fill out the form below. Contest details are below as well.

Also: Right click on the image at the right and use it as your avatar in Twitter or Facebook for more entries! :D

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tour Schedule

Friday: Spread the word about POSSESSION!
Monday-Saturday: Begin daily contests! For 24 hours only, you have 2 chances to win on each day, hosted at different people's blogs!
Monday: Visit Beth Revis's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Tuesday: Visit Lisa & Laura Roecker's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Wednesday: Visit Shannon Messenger's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Thursday: Visit Jamie Harrington's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Friday: Visit Christine Fonseca's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Saturday: Visit Ali Cross's blog for 2 more chances to win POSSESSION
Sunday: Stop by any of our blogs to find out the winners of the 5 signed copies for the Spread the Word contest!

Go forth! Spread the word! Collect entries and win a signed copy of POSSESSION!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

BIG, Huge, Amazing News!

Some of you may have seen this already, but if not....

Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker's THE LIES THAT BIND, the second book in The LIAR SOCIETY series, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks, for publication in Spring 2012, by Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management (NA).

We are so excited to announce that Kate's adventures will continue. We have a whole lot of exciting stuff in store for our pink haired super-sleuth including but not limited to: some serious secret society ass kicking, a fab new 'do and a juicy new mystery.

The truth is we wouldn't be here without all of your support. You read our randomness, you laugh at our humiliations and you helped us convince people to read The Liar Society. Honestly, we're still in shock that it actually worked. Thank you for everything.

XOXO,
L&L

The Bookanistas: HOURGLASS

Two very important things happened before we even cracked open our ARC of HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire.

1. We fell in love with Myra. She's she's pocket sized, she's blonde and she's hilariously irreverent. What's not to love?

2. We fell in love with the cover. I mean, holy WOW. That cover is one of the most amazing we've seen this year. It's gorgeous, it's twisty and it's sparkly.

And as it turns out, all of the stuff we loved about Myra and that gorgeous cover are EXACTLY the same things that we love about HOURGLASS. So, to recap for those of you who are a little slow on the uptake (I'm looking at YOU Scott Tracey) HOURGLASS was pocket sized, blonde, hilariously irreverent, gorgeous, twisty AND sparkly. Oh, and we LOVED it.

Here's what the back cover has to say (if you can bring yourself to turn it over):

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

What Lila has to say:
Emerson was a total BAD ASS. I mean, the girl can fight, time travel AND has two completely gorgeous guys fighting over her. Emerson is no damsel in distress. She's not the type to let other people fight her battles and with bookshelves crowded with heroines who do nothing but make assanine decisions and wait for someone to save their dumb asses we found Emerson refreshing.
But I'd be lying if I said Emerson was my favorite thing about HOURGLASS, because she SO wasn't.

Some girls love Michael. And I totally get that. He's a good guy. Stable. There when you need him. Maybe a little bit moody for my tastes, but overall hot and dependable. A sensible choice for any sasstastic teenage heroine.

And then there's Kaleb. Binge drinking, womanizing, hot, TALL, and broken. I loved him. Really, really loved him. All you crazy bitches can take Michael as long as you leave me Kaleb although something tells me I'm going to have to get in a VERY long line.

All in all, HOURGLASS is a fun, twisty, romance that I'd highly reccomend to fans of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and WHEN YOU REACH ME. HOURGLASS hits bookshelves June 14th, make sure you snag a copy!

Check out what the rest of the Bookanistas are up to this week and join the Bookanista Book Club at The Reading Room to see what books are making us swoon this week: