THE SECRET YEAR, and a chance to win

Monday, January 11, 2010

I've been away too, too long. But I'm back with a bang, because today is your second chance to enter the big Tenners giveaway, launched weeks ago with this post. As a reminder, the prize to one lucky winner is an ARC of THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF -1 signed by myself, Dia Reeves, Heidi R. Kling, Jennifer Hubbard, and Phoebe Kitanidis, and hopefully others. Also, because Dia Reeves is hell of cool, we've added a final copy of her debut BLEEDING VIOLET, signed by Dia, to the booty! And who knows--maybe the prize will continue to grow.

Meanwhile, back to our scheduled programming. Following is a guest post written by the amazing and talented Jennifer Hubbard, author of THE SECRET YEAR, which I got to read an ARC of and can comfortably say it's great: beautiful writing, and truly does evoke this Outsiders meets Romeo & Juliet thing we keep hearing. It's out now; here's a link to buy it! And here's Jenn:

The topic of “fish out of water” is interesting because there are so many characters in The Secret Year who use labels on themselves and each other, who say that certain people only “belong” in one part of town. And yet, individual characters keep breaking out of those boxes as people do in real life. The fish keep flying out of the water.

In The Secret Year, the dividing line is based on socioeconomic classes, but in other places it could play out along racial, ethnic, or religious differences. The main characters—Colt and Julia—actually use their respective labels to enhance their own secret relationship. Defying expectations, stomping all over the boundary that is supposed to divide them, excites them. They even play up that dividing line, joking about it, needling each other over it, exaggerating its importance. And yet it affects them more deeply in ways they don’t understand and don’t fully acknowledge. Several times, they find the ground slipping from beneath them when they’re suddenly confronted with what they believe about themselves and each other. Colt has to face a lot of his own self-deceptions: about his emotional involvement with Julia, about how secrecy affects relationships, and about the ways he is and isn’t a fish out of water.

Thanks, Jenn!

To enter to win (see above for the prize description), please comment here and for extra entries let me know that you've linked this contest, or Twittered it, or bought a local billboard along the freeway, or whatever. (If you did that last one, you get a hundred million entries, wow.) If you comment here and at the first post, that's two entries, remember. So comment here too!

And only enter if you're 13 or older and in Canada or the US, please. Also, I should probably mention there's some naughty words in THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF -1, so if that kind of thing is likely to upset you, please don't enter. Thanks!

Comments

17 Responses to “THE SECRET YEAR, and a chance to win”
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Tina Laurel Lee said...

I can appreciate naughty words!

And Jenn, I've seen the cover to The Secret Year all over. It is great to hear more about the book. Sounds fantastic.

January 11, 2010 at 10:32 AM

I love that description of the book Outsiders meets Romeo & Juliet - pretty much sold on wanting to read it!

Amber

January 11, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Justine said...

:O Bleeding Violet has been added?! Oh my. This is amazing.

And naughty words are good. Haha.

I tweeted: here

January 11, 2010 at 4:53 PM

I'm so excited to read this book :)

January 11, 2010 at 5:14 PM
DeNiSe said...

I saw this one in the Book store really excited to read it :)

January 11, 2010 at 5:45 PM
Shari Green said...

Yeah, I'm okay with naughty words. Heh.

shari579 [at] hotmail[dot]com

January 11, 2010 at 7:11 PM
Shveta Thakrar said...

I loved The Secret Year. May Jenn's book take off like. . .like. . .oh, fine. Like sliced bread, damn it!

January 11, 2010 at 8:07 PM
Anonymous said...

I soooo want to read this one! Enter me please :)

foltzsfantasticbooks at gmail.com

January 11, 2010 at 10:17 PM
Sab H. said...

Please enter me!

I liked on my sidebar: www.yabliss.com

yabliss AT gmail DOT com

January 11, 2010 at 10:58 PM
Jenny N. said...

The Secret Year looks like a great book.

Tweeted: http://twitter.com/Jullysay/statuses/7661826135

jen4777[at]hotmail.com

January 12, 2010 at 1:40 AM
jpetroroy said...

Great contest! Please enter me!

jpetroroy at gmail dot com

January 12, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Unknown said...

Please enter me :) I am more than 13 years old! lol

tweeted:
http://twitter.com/rubyreads/status/7674334994

rubs.escalona [at] gmail.com

January 12, 2010 at 10:34 AM
Katie said...

I am reading The Secret Year right now and I love it so far. Thanks for featuring Jennifer here. =]

Also, once again thanks for the great giveaway.

katieb206@gmail.com

January 14, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Kelly said...

I can't wait to read The Secret Year and The Absolute Value of -1!
Please enter me :)
kghobbs@gmail.com
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/kghobbs/statuses/8479492097

January 31, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Mrs. Duff said...

Looks like must reads! Thanks!
Karla

kduff@oelwein.k12.ia.us
www.spottoread.blogspot.com

February 27, 2010 at 1:38 PM