2nd Annual Authors Are Rockstars Tour: A.J. Paquette {Guest Post}

I'm so excited to be participating in the Annual Authors Are Rockstars event again! This event is organized and run by the splendiferious  Fiktshun, Two Chicks on Books, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. 

My rockstar author is....

A.J. is the author of several books and is here today with some of her top favorite quotes from all of her books! But first, let me tell you why I think A.J. Paquette is a rockstar author:

Why A.J. Paquette is a Rockstar Author

I think A.J. is a Rockstar Author because, not only does she write enthralling, highly entertaining, and thought-provoking books, she writes them for ALL kinds of young readers. From the littlest readers to readers young at heart, A.J. has a book for everyone. She writes fantastic picture books, middle-grade books that sparkle and shine, and smart, complexly crafted young adult books. But that's not all...A.J. isn't just an author, she's also a literary agent, which means she doesn't just write awesome books, she helps share other awesome books by other rockstar authors with the world! 

A.J. Paquette's Favorite Quotes From Her Books

Author’s Note: Ask any parent to pick a favorite child, and I’m guessing that most will kindly demur. Now imagine having thousands upon thousands of paragraphs, er, children—not only do you have to choose between them, but you also have to remember each of them individually! Needless to say, not the easiest task to accomplish. Despite this, I was excited when assigned this blog post topic; it was immensely fun to dive into my projects old and new, poke around, and see which quotes caught my eye. From these I’ve pulled out a selection of the ones that did so: I will not say that these are my “Top Favorite Quotes,” but I will say that they are ones I like very much, and which I hope give a flavor for the stories from they are drawn. Maybe you will be inspired to pick up one or more of the full books and check them out for yourself?  –AJP 

#1

I am alone. People around me talk, laugh, push, jostle. They speak into small mobile phones and they squawk at their children. They look coyly at boys or girls near them. They move fluidly through this dance of life without giving it a second thought. And here I stand, stuck on the side with my dancing shoes still in hand. It is not that I don’t know the right moves—I don’t even hear the same music.

--Luchi arrives in Bangkok, in NOWHERE GIRL (Walker/Bloomsbury, 2011)

#2

The sun is shining, and we are in the mood for adventure. It’s a perfect day for tracking fairies! Let’s go look for clues. –The hunt begins, in THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES (Tanglewood, 2011)

#3

Dahlia was dead, but the sunflower was not. Not yet, anyway. It still looked shimmery and only half-visible, just like all other living things. But the stem was bent and broken, and drooped down from the rest of the plant. Soon it would expire—right into Dahlia’s waiting hands. Then she would carry the new ghost flower to her garden. –We are introduced to Dahlia, in RULES FOR GHOSTING (Walker/Bloosmbury, 2013)

#4

Six months didn’t seem nearly long enough to inhabit a place like this. It was the kind of house you wanted to take your time to explore, savoring every room and introducing yourself to each doorframe and wall hanging. It was the kind of house you wanted to make friends with slowly, because you knew it would be a friendship worth keeping, one that could last a lifetime. –Oliver arrives at Silverton Manor, in RULES FOR GHOSTING (Walker/Bloomsbury, 2013)

#5

“Cyclid-Bf appears to be in every way ideal for supporting human life,” said eminent astrophysicist Dr. Alan Bartleby. “Yet any humans actually trying to get there would perish long before arrival. Humanity may have just found its ultimate paradox.” –News article quoted in PARADOX (Random House, 2013)

#6

Ana has no idea what kind of person she was, or is, but one thing she does know right now: Loneliness and self- pity are not only self-indulgent but dangerous. You have now arrived on Paradox. She’s maybe alone, definitely damaged, possibly deranged— but she’s here. On this alien planet. She has no one to rely on but herself. –Ana gets moving, in PARADOX (Random House, 2013)

#7

Petey is enjoying a TRANQUIL afternoon: peace and quiet and some light gardening. Pru is feeling TRICKSY. She has a sneaky little plan. –PETEY AND PRU AND THE HULLABALOO (Clarion, 2013)

A.J. Paquette

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

A.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

BOOKS BY A.J. PAQUETTE

(click on each book to learn more)

Picture Books

Middle-Grade

Check out my 5 cupcakes review of Rules for Ghosting

Young Adult

Check out my 4 cupakes review of Paradox

Interview: A.J. Paquette, author of Rules for Ghosting

I'm so excited to have A.J. Paquette stopping by today for an interview! A.J. is the author of the awesome middle-grade book Rules for Ghosting. Be sure to read my review of Rules for Ghosting.

Rules for Ghosting

by A.J. Paquette

July 9, 2013

Bloomsbury/Walker Childrens

add on Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Twelve-year-old Dahlia has always lived at Silverton Manor-having spent fifty years as its resident ghost. When Oliver Day and his family show up as house-sitters the day Mrs. Tibbs, a Liberator sent by the Spectral Investigative Council, arrives to teach Dahlia the proper rules for ghosting, Dahlia can't wait to make new friends. But the unscrupulous ghost hunter, Rank Wiley, and the crooked town councilman, Jock Rutabartle, plan to rid Silverton Manor of its ghosts and sell it to the highest bidder. With her home and friendships at stake Dahlia may have to break the rules of ghosting as quickly as she learns them to solve the mystery of her death and save the manor. Equal parts charming and eerie, this ghostly caper hits all the right notes for the middle-grade audience.

What three words best describe Rules for Ghosting?

Funny, spooky, sweet.

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers (especially reluctant readers) to give Rules for Ghosting a try? 

Twelve-year-old ghost Dahlia is desperate to leave the house she has been trapped in since her death, but first she has to figure out how she died: with the help of a jolly ghost Liberator, a living boy looking for a home of his own, and a creepy Ghosterminator determined to catch a ghost if it’s the last thing he does.

Grab a copy of Rules for Ghosting and answer the following: 

Favorite chapter?

One of my favorite things about this book is how everything builds toward the climactic finale. So while I have many favorite sections, chapter 30 holds a special place in my heart because it is where everything erupts into chaos. To be fair, it had been building for a while!

Favorite page? 

I am rather partial to page 1, where we meet our main ghost character and start to realize what a different world she inhabits. Plus, that opening went through many incarnations, and I’m happy to have finally gotten it just the way I wanted it to be 

Favorite character? 

This is not an easy question to answer! But I might have to cheat a little bit and say “JJ”—these are actually two characters, the twins Junie and Joe, but they tend to move and act as one naughty, pranks-loving unit. They are a ton of fun!

Since Rules for Ghosting deals with ghostly things I have to ask, do YOU believe in ghosts? Ever had a ghostly experience? If you could make contact with a famous ghost, which would you choose? 

Who can say for sure what might or might not be out there? I can’t say that I’ve literally seen a ghost, though I did have a couple of suitably spooky and unexplainable encounter when I was young. I guess you could say that my mind is open to the possibility. As for famous ghosts, I couldn’t name one in particular, but ideally I’d like to connect with one like Dahlia, who is playful, chatty, and ready for adventure.

Silverton Manor is the perfect house for haunting...have you ever visited a real haunted house? Any famous haunted places you'd love to visit? 

I absolutely love spooky-feeling, old-fashioned houses full of character and packed with nooks and crannies. I also find it fascinating to explore old-time graveyards; it’s like being allowed a peek into the past, a look at the life of ordinary people of that time. I did visit the Tower of London many years ago—now there’s a place with presence!

As an author who has written Young Adult and Middle-Grade and Picture books, do you prefer writing one over the others? 

I don’t think I could pick just one; there are elements of each that I love, and others that are more of a challenge. I do love the wide-eyed optimism and sense of mischievous adventure that is so present during the middle-grade years. (Although those who know me well might point out that I don’t seem to have left those behind in middle school, hmmm!) What I like best, I guess, is being able to shift from one type of story to another as inspiration strikes. I love a challenge, and bringing to life a character or story I feel deeply, no matter what the medium, is what gives me the most excitement.

Fill in the blanks: 

I'm really awesome___

at baking—breads and cakes in particular!

I'm really embarrassed to admit___ 

that the tidiness of my desk quite often suffers in favor of my writing (and agent) work. Priorities, right?!

The last great book I read was___

is, actually: I’m not yet finished reading it but I am adoring THREE TIMES LUCKY, by Sheila Turnage. What voice! What characters! It’s absolutely masterful.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Rules for Ghosting what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it? 

Let’s see: Chocolate is a particular favorite of Dahlia’s, so that would have to be the cupcake base. I think this should be topped with a lighter-than-air whipped cream frosting, and perhaps a decorative candy sunflower to top it off. Yum! For a name? How about the Ghost Garden.

Thank you SO MUCH, A.J. Paquette, for stopping by today! That cupcake sounds delish and Three Times Lucky is one of my favorite books! 

A.J. Paquette

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

A.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

Review: Rules for Ghosting by A.J. Paquette

Rules for Ghosting

by A.J. Paquette

Pub Date: 7/9/13

Pub: Bloomsbury & Walker

Format: eARC

Source: Netgalley

Twelve-year-old Dahlia has always lived at Silverton Manor-having spent fifty years as its resident ghost. When Oliver Day and his family show up as house-sitters the day Mrs. Tibbs, a Liberator sent by the Spectral Investigative Council, arrives to teach Dahlia the proper rules for ghosting, Dahlia can't wait to make new friends. But the unscrupulous ghost hunter, Rank Wiley, and the crooked town councilman, Jock Rutabartle, plan to rid Silverton Manor of its ghosts and sell it to the highest bidder. With her home and friendships at stake Dahlia may have to break the rules of ghosting as quickly as she learns them to solve the mystery of her death and save the manor. Equal parts charming and eerie, this ghostly caper hits all the right notes for the middle-grade audience.

I received an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review

A.J. Paquette's Rules for Ghosting is an utterly delightful and superbly entertaining middle-grade read! This ghoulicious gem of a book is full of spooky, charming fun and storytelling that simply sparkles and shines!

For fifty years, 12 year old Dahlia has lived at Silverton Manor as its resident ghost. Mrs. Tibbs, a Liberator from the very important and rigid Spectral Investigation Council, shows up to teach Dahlia the proper rules for ghosting and help her uncover the anchor that is keeping her stuck at Silverton Manor. On the same day as Mrs. Tibbs arrival, Oliver Day and his family of house-sitters move into the manor. The Days' job is to ensure the manor gets a pretty makeover, both for its physical appearance and its reputation, so that Jock Rutabartle can sell it. But a nasty ghost hunter named Rank Wiley gets in the way of both Dahlia and the Days. Dahlia must break some ghosting rules to save herself and help Oliver save the beloved manor.

I loved everything about this book! The characters, the plot, the writing- it's all just awesome. Rules for Ghosting is the perfect middle-grade blend of fun thrills, eerie whimsy, and smart mystery. Paquette's storytelling has that special spark, the kind that is fueled by a wonderfully imaginative and addicting story, that I always look for in middle-grade books. With a pitch-perfect voice, amusing humor, and clever plotting, Rules for Ghosting is truly captivating from beginning to end.

I'm huge fan of ghost stories and ghost hunting, and Paquette has created the perfect middle-grade ghost story that has a enough eerie spookiness to keep readers enthralled, but is brimming with charm and age-appropriate thrills. This book was seriously just SO MUCH fun to read! It has so many fantastic elements, from an enchanting setting (Silverton Manor) to a compelling mystery to awesome characters, this book has it all. Silverton Manor, with its irresistible charm; mysterious allure; and many rooms waiting to be explored, is like a character in itself. Given the chance, I'd move into Silverton Manor (and claim Poppy's room!). Paquette weaves a clever, unpredictable mystery that kept me on my toes and was exciting to unravel with Dahlia and Oliver.

The characters in Rules for Ghosting shine! I adore ghost-girl Dahlia; she's everything I look for in a middle-grade heroine: smart, brave, capable, inquisitive, and endearing. Oliver and his rambunctious younger siblings make for an engaging and amusing bunch. Younger readers will love this group of young characters and want to join their ghost-hunter busting team (I know I do!). And Rank and Jock make for fun baddies.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: With spooks and kooks, thrills and chills, and sparkle and shine, Rules for Ghosting is an awesome middle-grade read that charmed me completely. I can't recommend this book enough, especially for all the younger readers in your life!

MY RATING

Add Rules for Ghosting on Goodreads

Purchase

Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

A.J. Paquette

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

A.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

Paradox Blog Tour {Review and Giveaway}

I'm so thrilled to have the Paradox Blog Tour stopping by today with my review and a blog tour wide giveaway...

Paradox 

by A.J. Paquette

6/25/13

Random House BFYR

add on Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon / B&N

Ana only knows her name because of the tag she finds pinned to her jumpsuit. Waking in the featureless compartment of a rocket ship, she opens the hatch to discover that she has landed on a barren alien world. Instructions in her pocket tell her to observe and to survive, no doubt with help from the wicked-looking knives she carries on her belt. But to what purpose?

Meeting up with three other teens--one boy seems strangely familiar--Ana treks across the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They're working on some sort of problem, and the situation is critical. What is the connection between Ana's mission on this planet and the crisis back on Earth, and how is she supposed to figure out the answer when she can't remember anything?

(I received an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review)

A.J. Paquette's Paradox is an out of this world post-apocalyptic adventure that features an intriguing premise, a strong, capable heroine, and cool sci-fi elements.

Paradox begins with Ana waking aboard a spaceship with no memory of who she is or where she is. Ana soon discovers that she is on a desolate planet called Paradox and has clear instructions to observe and survive. This planet is home to a terrifying and huge worm like creature, as well as strange streams of light that give Ana a glimpse of life back on Earth. Ana encounters three other teens who have the same instructions and the four set out to the sea and the safe-haven colony supposedly there. But the worm creature follows them and the four must face dangerous obstacles and their own fears as the critical situation on Earth depends on their success.

I was instantly drawn to Paradox because of its wicked cool sounding premise (and maybe because the worm-like creature on the cover reminded me of the Graboids in the “Tremors” films!), and, for the most part, the premise really lived up to my expectations. Paquette took me on a wild, twisted, sci-fi filled thrill ride full of the unexpected and the intriguing.

The world-building in Paradox is really great. Paquette has crafted a complex, layered, and fully realized world that is both refreshingly post-apocalyptic and sci-fi. Like Ana, readers “arrive” on Paradox with no preconceived ideas or information regarding this strange planet, and we get to discover all the wondrous and unusual things this dangerously alluring planet has to offer. And Paradox the planet, with its pink sky; two suns; purple sands; and green ocean, makes for an awesome setting. Tidbits about the dire situation on Earth and the events that have led up to the exploration of Paradox are sprinkled throughout the book in the form of news articles. I appreciated this background information, but think this aspect of the story needed some fleshing out and further explanation to create complete logical reasoning behind the sci-elements.

Ana begins her journey with no memories, but I loved that we still get to know who she was and who she is in the present, and I really liked her as whole. She's got a great feisty, curious nature and is a capable, clever heroine. The flirty interaction between Ana and Todd is fun and amusing, but I like that the romantic aspects don't dominate the story.

Ana's time on Paradox takes some thrilling and shocking twists and turns, creating a refreshingly unpredictable plot. Paquette weaves a really clever and innovative story that leads up to a thought-provoking climax. Expect the unexpected, y'all!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Paradox is a fast-paced, thrilling read with really awesome and well crafted sci-fi elements. A.J. Paquette's imaginative and innovative world kept me entertained and enthralled from beginning to end.

MY RATING

A.J. Paquette

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

A.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

A.J. Paquette is giving away three Paradox ARCs during this tour in a blog tour wide giveaway!

(US/CAN)

You can enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week Two Schedule

June 24th -Word Spelunking- Review (that's me!)
June 25th -Emilie's Book World- Guest Post
June 25th -Confessions of a Readaholic- Review
June 26th -Nick's Book Blog- Interview
June 26th -Magna Maniac Cafe- Review
June 27th -A Book and a Latte-Guest Post
June 28th -I Am A Reader Not A Writer- Guest Post