Get ready for BLACK CITY!

Breathless Read #4, Black City by Elizabeth Richards releases on Tuesday November 13th.

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths. (via Goodreads)


You've probably heard me going on and on and ON about how much I love this book. I love all of the Breathless Reads, but BLACK CITY is my personal favorite, and I don't even think that blurb up there does it justice. It's just so dark and mysterious and sexy and creepy and action-packed and downright disturbing in a good way. It's like Underworld meets True Blood meets a Nine Inch Nails concert meets that party your mom forbade you to attend meets that guy your best friend warned you about. If Elizabeth Richards did not live on the other side of the Atlantic, I would have to find her house and break in and steal the sequel.

5 minutes of Q&A with Elizabeth Richards:

FP: Most fun part of writing Black City?

ER: The most fun part of writing Black City was the Tracker training scene between Ash and Natalie - it's the first time they make a move on each other, and it's pretty steamy!

FP: Hardest part?

ER: The hardest part of writing Black City was the last few chapters of the book. Those who have read it will understand why *sniff*.

FP: Black City will appeal to people who like ________.

ER: People who like Divergent will probably like Black City. They're both dystopian novels with a steamy romance at their core.

FP: Just for fun, because I am (finally) reading His Dark Materials, what would be your daemon or spirit animal? 

ER: It's gotta be a Long-Eared Jerboa. [FP: A wha? Is that Brit-speak for rabbit? How have I never even heard of that?] They're so unbelievably cute, I'd just spend all day going 'awwwwwww'. Plus they'd be great for spying on people, since they're so tiny they can get into any room and have these massive ears to eavesdrop on conversations. 

Need more Elizabeth Richards? Try her website, blog, twitter, and Facebook!

Venom vocabulary and playlist

Just in case you missed it at the #VenomReleaseParty

 Vocabulary (disclaimer: I am not a native Italian (or French) speaker, so feel free to correct me if you are).

Mannaggia and accidempoli both roughly translate to ‘dammit.’ (or ‘dangit’ if that’s how you roll).

Santo cielo and caspita both roughly translate to ‘goodness!’ or ‘good heavens!’

Mi dispiace means ‘I’m sorry.’

Faites attention means 'be careful' (in French).

A la prochaine means 'until next time' (in French).

Here's a post I did for blogger Nikki Wang that has some illustrated terms like chopines and portego. If there are other foreign words you come across that you think I should define here, just let me know. (I wrote Venom over 2 years ago so I might have forgotten a few).

Playlist* (disclaimer:I'm a proud child of the 90s, but I tried my best to diversify. Honestly, the fact that this list contains no songs from Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, or The Crow soundtrack represents major self-restraint on my part :D)

Funeral by Band of Horses 

ET by Katy Perry 

Come on Closer by Jem 

Nightcall by Kavinsky 

Here in My Room by Incubus

My Body is a Cage by Peter Gabriel 

This Night by Black Lab 

I’m on Fire by Stateless 

Wicked Game by Stone Sour 

Good Girl by Carrie Underwood 

The Boy Who Murdered Love by Diana Vickers

The Perfect Drug by Nine Inch Nails

*Thanks to Julie and Nikki for their suggestions :) 

#VenomReleaseParty wrap-up and WINNERS

List form because my brain is fried:

1. Thank you all so much for coming.

2. Next time I will be even more organized to cut down on the spam madness. Perhaps I will have you all send me your questions ahead of time so they only need to get answered once. That way I won't get kicked off the twitter!! :) #SpamQueen

3. Some of the winner-calls were hard to make. This person was clearly first, but she didn't respond to the right tweet. One of you had an even longer name for da Vinci that I didn't find when I researched the question. I did the best I could, tried to be fair, but admit that I am human and hope no one resents me. Boy do I have newfound respect for referees, umpires, gymnastics judges, etc.

4. It appears two answers were right on Breathless Reads question. Sapphique was in the boxed set but Across the Universe went on the tour. I made that question up on the fly because we needed another one when a winner opted not to select a prize, and I'm not sure why the touring group differed from the boxed set. I apologize. I believe @inthebestworlds clocked first with that answer, but if anyone can verify that or knows how to review the feed and can send me a screen capture I will make that right for the other winner.

5. In the coming months, I will give away at least one ARC on my blog via a Where in the World is Belladonna?? contest. I did this with Venom and people found it to be a lot of fun, so keep an eye out for that :)

6. WINNERS: (no worries if your twitter handle is a little off--due to my sloppy hurried contest scribbling--as long as YOU know who you are and I can match your address and verify your identity).

$25.00 B&N giftcard: @bookklovr22
signed VENOM HC: @YAvareads
Breathless boxed set: @kiki3138

Breathless 2-pack: @MsJessR
PaperLantern 2-pack @novelsounds
PRODIGY @Louisse_Ang
OUT OF THE EASY @MVTheBookBabe
RISE @YAvareads
THE MADNESS UNDERNEATH @goldenfurpro
ORLEANS @Emzchang

Cyborg/Pixie/Editrix/Wunderkind Beth is in charge of doling out the Belladonna ARC. (I can haz only one right now, and I NEEDS it). NOTE: An ARC is not a finished product and there are a few minor blips in there and a couple of words that are not time-period appropriate, which will be changed. Feel free to email me with any other mistakes you notice. This is helpful :)

#VenomReleaseParty PRIZES AND RULES

The attendance prizes, generously provided by Penguin Teen  and Paper Lantern:

1.     ARC of The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
2.     ARC of Prodigy by Marie Lu
3.     ARC of Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
4.     ARC of Out of the Easy by Ruta Septys
5.     ARC of Rise by Andrea Cremer 
6.  Not pictured: A Breathless Reads 2-pack: ARCs of The Innocents and Black City
7.  Not pictured: A Paper Lantern Lit 2-pack: paperback of Fury and hardcover of Envy, both by Elizabeth Miles. Also includes 2 Butterfly Clues bookmarks and a Paper Lantern Lit totebag. Tres cute!

*I am giving 6 and 7 away as 2-packs because these books are already out (or will be by the time my post office delivers them) so I expect them to be less in demand. But they are all awesome, I assure you :)

RULES:
1. Open internationally
2. We're going to be playing games where the 'right answer' might not be completely black and white. My decision is final. (I'll try really hard not to screw up).
3. Max of 2 attendance prizes per guest 
4. Must. Have. Fun.

It's time for another YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes!

The APOCALYPSIES are doing it again! Doing what? Oh, you know, just giving you a chance to win lots of books and swag and gift cards and other cool stuff, while finding out about 2012's most happening reads. IMPORTANT: The YAmazing Race does not start until Monday, October 22nd at noon EST, so if you've found your way here early, get excited but don't go a-clickin' yet.

Welcome to my blog, site of mad giveaways, shameless bragging, and occasional rants and raves. My debut novel, VENOM, comes out on October 30th...

Love, lust, murder, mayhem and high society converge in one thrilling debut

Cassandra Caravello has everything a girl could desire: elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, invitations to the best parties, and a handsome, wealthy fiance-- yet she longs for something more. Ever since her parents' death, Cass has felt trapped alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape. 

When Cass stumbles upon the body of a murdered woman--with a bloody X carved across her heart--she's drawn into a dangerous world of secret societies, courtesans, and killers. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a poor artist with a mischievous grin...and a habit of getting into trouble. Will Cassandra find the murderer before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiance or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco? 

Beauty, romance, and mystery weave together in a novel that's as stunning and seductive as the city of Venice itself. 

That's all the information you need to be YAmazing. Good luck! I'll send autographed Venom bookmarks to everyone who comments on this post. (Writers' block? Cat got your tongue? Tell me if this is your first YAmazing Race, or the best book you read all year, or what you're dressing up as for Halloween). If you want bookmarks, don't forget to send your mailing address to fionapaulbooks at gmail d o t com.


Other possibly relevant things: 

Anyone who has already or does preorder VENOM should click here to receive pretty Venom wallpaper and a free pdf copy of VENOMOUS, my 9000 word companion story. You'll also be entered in a drawing to win more great prizes.

Also, #VenomReleaseParty madness starts today on twitter, where I will be giving away at least two signed copies of VENOM this week to people who have changed their twitter avatar to the cover design in support of VENOM's launch. Then, more giveaways on October 30th!!

Speaking of giving stuff away, if you have any extra kidlit books or ARCs, please consider donating them to Books Change Lives. Lili is a high school senior working to get books into the hands of kids who might not be able to afford them. How awesome is that?

Next stop on the YAmazing race? May I present the fabulous Lenore Appelhans...