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Archives for Oct 2008

Caroline B. Cooney Comes to Visit Random Buzzers!

Random Buzzers is very excited to welcome Caroline B. Cooney, author of The Face on the Milk Carton to the Random Buzz boards this coming Monday November 3rd! I remember reading this years ago and was just absolutely captivated by the stroy. Have you had a chance to read it? If not, check out the book HERE.

Before she officially comes on here to chat with you, she wanted to share a special note with you. Let's all welcome Caroline B. Cooney and make sure to head on over to THIS special thread to leave any questions and/or comments you'd like for her to answer and read! She'd also love some advice on what makes a good website so don't be shy about sharing all that you know!

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Dear Random Buzzers,

When I stopped making author visits to schools, I no longer met any of my readers.  It's been such a loss.  I'm so glad to have this new way to meet you and hear from you.  I made a big move last week - 750 miles - from Connecticut to South Carolina.  I'm surrounded by boxes - I have 42 boxes of books still to unpack!  But the sun is shining through the windows and my new neighbors are nice and it's going to be a treat to lift up each book and see what I decided was important enough to bring.  (I think I decided every book was important enough.) Now you too will be my new neighbors and we'll talk about books together.  We'll probably talk about The Face on the Milk Carton and the other Janie books.

I loved writing that story line: Who am I?  Right now I'm in the middle of writing a new suspense novel whose story line is also "Who am I?"  I'm thinking of calling it They Never Came Back.  Do you like that title?  

And I just got the cover art for my book due out next year, If the Witness Lied.  Isn't that a great title?  On the cover is a single shimmering candle in the dark.  Will the lights go out permanently for the kids in this story? 

I love to write.  Of course now I have a new office and have to get used to a new room and different light and another arrangement of furniture and reference material.  You do that every September when you start school, and it's exciting, don’t you think? -  but also daunting.  My first writing here in South Carolina won't be my own books - it'll be with you.  Send me lots of details about you and your reading and your writing and what you're up to, so we have lots to talk about.  

Best to you,
Caroline B. Cooney 

PS I have never had a web site and next month will start organizing one.  Send me tips.

Posted Oct 31, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 12 Comments | Share It

Filed under: Caroline B. Cooney The Face on the Milk Carton

Random Hour #17: Classic Books

With the weather getting colder and the leaves starting to fall off the trees, there is nothing better than snuggling by the fire with a great book!  When the temperatures start to drop I tend to seek out a little more substance in my reading material; so while summer books have always been synonymous with light, easy reads, winter books must mean deeper and more meaningful stories.  Like those summer flings which seem to fade away with the first sign of fall, in a winter book I guess you could say I am looking for a more “serious relationship”. Although I have to admit I do often indulge in my love for chick-lit books that don’t require much thought, when it starts to get colder outside I have a tendency to seek out more classic novels; the ones that are so timeless that no matter how much time passes, they somehow remain universally relevant.  Some of my favorites include The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, and Pride and Prejudice, and while I feel that I have read many of the great classic books, I can’t help but feel like there are still so many I have yet to tackle!

What about you? Which books are on your list all time favorite classics? Which ones are on your “must read” list?

Posted Oct 29, 2008 by Buzzgirl | 19 Comments | Share It

Filed under: Random Hour

Check Out The Finalists For The Teen Book Video Awards 2008!

Student filmmakers from across the country have competed to create videos for three upcoming YA novels and Random House is proud to be a part of such a great project that fuses the love of reading and the art of filmmaking.

After much hard work, three finalists have been chosen among the bunch who have created videos that best represent The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, Parties & Potions by Sarah Mlynowski, and Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.

Check out the videos below then cast your vote in the special Random Buzzers poll featuring these three videos and let us know which one you like the best! 

Make sure you leave a comment for this post to let us know what you think of the videos then enter the Random Buzzers activity for the Teen Book Video Awards 2008 to let us know which video you’ve voted for, if you’ve had a chance to read the book and why you liked your pick the most!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Parties & Potions by Sarah Mlynowski


Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Posted Oct 28, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 21 Comments | Share It

Filed under: Awards random house Teen Book Video Awards

Brisingr Fandom Lives On at Random Buzzers!

It was an exciting summer at the Vroengard Academy where fans of the Inheritance Cycle got to particpate in fun actvities that tested their wits and challenged their ability to work together as teams either as Sverds or Skolirs to earn points and great rewards. Just because graduation from the Academy has taken place and the school for dragon riders ir out doesn't mean that you are left hanging with no where to gather to further discuss and share your love for the series.

Make sure to check back and jump into the conversations on the Buzz Boards where you can specifically talk about the characters and events relating to the Brisingr title or jump right into the book discussion (beware of spoilers if you do decide to join THESE discussions!).

What else can you do to keep the dragon riders fandom alive? Check out the lastest activity for Brisingr and create your own fan-made videos! Let us know if you've ever made fan-made videos before or if this will be your first video production. We'd love to know what other fun video projects you've worked on in the past or ideas that you have brewing for the future!

You can also check out the Random Store to snag your copy of the Inheritance Cycle Omnibus: Eragon and Eldest!

Posted Oct 21, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 15 Comments | Share It

Filed under: brisingr The Inheritance Cycle

Wild Fantasies Lived Out On This Hallows Eve

There have been so many discussions on Random Buzzers as of late in regards to far-off fantasy lands and magical treasures that we would all love to discover. Sometimes we all get so caught up in our busy real-world lives that escaping into our imagination turns into a rarity. October serves as a wonderful month for us to remember to kick back, relax and have a little fun thinking about what fictional characters we would love to be for just one night. If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m talking about Halloween – where young and old alike can celebrate in good fun and revel in being someone else (or creature) for a night!

I was thinking about which characters from books I’ve read would be fun to bring to life through costume. One of my favorite protagonists of all time is Lizzie from Pride and Justice. Although I absolutely love her strong feminine character, my thoughts on this way strayed more to the fashion appeal of the time period for the setting of the book. It would be so much fun to wear a genuine fancy dress fit for a ball from the early 1800's.

With this in mind, I ask you the same question - which fictional character from a book would you like to bring to life through costume? Share your thoughts with us - I'd love to know what everyone's real Halloween plans are going to be!

Posted Oct 17, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 20 Comments | Share It

Having A Ball With the Likely Story Script

There are quite a few of you who are new to the Random Buzzers community -  welcome all! If you haven't had a chance to yet, take a look around, exlpore and discover all the fun activities we have going on and chat with other wonderful readers on the Buzz Boards!

Random Buzzers have been checking out David Van Etten's Likely Story and writing a fictional soap opera community script. You too can contribute to the script! Our current script submission calls for a costume party in the already drama-filled script - read the up-to-date script written by Random Buzzers HERE then check out the latest activity and participate to have a chance to be a part of the Likely Story sopa oper script!

Have you ever wanted to be a part of an actual book? You can! Random Buzzers is also holding a contest where you can be a fictional character in a future published book in the David Van Etten's Likely Story series! Check out more details about that HERE and make sure to get your entry in to be a part of history in the making. Want a read an excerpt from Likely Story to help you with your submission? Read it HERE!

Thank you to Angel_X for writing the latest installment to the script - wonderful job! I can't wait to read more of what all of you have in mind for the Bed & Breakfast and its cast of colorful characters. Reading the character development is quite exciting and I can't wait to see what more you will unfold for us!

Posted Oct 9, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: Likely Story soap opera script

Giveaway For Advance Copies of 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows!

Ann Brashares, the author of the beloved The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series will be coming out with a brand new title, 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows, this coming January! Read an excerpt and meet the new characters HERE and let us know what you think of the growing Sisterhood!

Random Buzzers is very excited to celebrate this new release with fans of the Sisterhood and wants you to get in on the early action... in a BIG way. We’ll be giving away 50 advance copies of 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows to the first 50 people who answer the question, “Which character from the Sisterhood do you think Ama is most like and why?”. Let us know your answer in the special 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows advance copy giveaway activity and good luck to all who enter!

Posted Oct 8, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 79 Comments | Share It

Filed under: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows Ann Brashares

Special Greeting From Author Juliet Marillier!

As we announced last week, Random Buzzers is very excited to welcome our next Featured Author, Juliet Marillier as she makes her way here to the Buzz Boards to chat with you!

Juliet Marillier is a big fan of fairy tales, history, myths and all the wonderful legends and stories that we've all grown to love as well! Many of you Random Buzzers have already begun to express your love for these subjects as well and have begun to share your Precious Artifacts and Wildest Journeys with us on the special thread for welcoming Juliet Marillier to our Buzz Boards! If you haven't already done so, make sure to participate in the Cybele's Secret activities and share your thoughts with us on the thread! 20 lucky members who share their submissions on the Buzz Boards will automatically be entered into a giveaway for an advanced copy of Cybele's Secret!

Before she joins us this coming Monday October 6th, Juliet Marillier wanted to share a special message with you:

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Dear Random Buzzers,

I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join you for a chat about my writing, my new book novel Cybele’s Secret, and books and writing in general. In particular, I love to talk to readers about their own writing, as I know many of you share my passion for storytelling.

Since I was a small child, too young to read by myself but not too young to listen to stories, I’ve loved fairy tales and mythology. My parents told me stories and sang me songs, mostly Scottish ones because that was where my family originally came from. Later on I discovered history – I loved studying Ancient Greece and Rome at school, and the Egypt of the Pharaohs. Of course that led me to many more great stories.

I’m much older now and I still love fairy tales, myths and legends, history and exotic places. The two books I’ve written for young adults, Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret, are historical novels with fairy tale magic thrown in. Each story has a young woman as narrator. I give my girls lots of challenges as they go on their journeys and find their inner strengths. Jena in Wildwood Dancing makes her journey without leaving home, but of course there’s another world hidden close to home, the mysterious Other Kingdom. In Cybele’s Secret, Jena’s sister Paula is the narrator and her travels take her to Istanbul and beyond.

Paula is a bookish sort of girl (a bit like I was at her age) who believes she can solve any problem by studying. She finds herself on a journey with two unlikely men, one a bodyguard, the other a pirate, and is thrown right out of her comfort zone. I gave Paula some physical challenges that reflect some of my own greatest fears, for instance, crossing a rickety suspension bridge and being deep underground with no light. Then there’s the Turkish bath!
I hope you’ll enjoy Cybele’s Secret and I look forward to answering your questions. I’m on Western Australian time, so please understand if I take a little while to respond – I’ll do my best!

All best wishes,

Juliet Marillier

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Posted Oct 3, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 4 Comments | Share It

Filed under: Cybele's Secret Juliet Marillier Wildwood Dancing