Whatever Wednesday: Why Do You Love Softball?

August 3rd, 2011

Hey, everyone!

It’s been an awesome summer so far. Lots of time with my tribe at the beach, boardwalk, pool, and parks. Love it.

I also love this video. Check out why these amazing athletes, including two-time Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza, love softball! Thanks, Pretty Tough, for another fun promo video.

And check out what people are saying about Stealing Bases! Yay!

“Stealing Bases is a worthy read. Keri Mikulski pitches a great story filled with wonderful writing. The story will hit you fast and doesn’t slow down until the end. I am very curious to see what will be next for Keri Mikulski, whatever it is, I will be reading.” – Book Cellar

“Kylie is the most edgy girl so far I have met in Keri’s books. She had a little mean streak, which was fun and she was taking risks which makes her an interesting person to read about. I also loved to read how things work at the softball field, Keri is a real softball expert and you read her love for the sport between the lines. Sporty and fun and great characters and plot! Don’t miss out this book! 5 stars!” – Marjolein’s Book Blog

“I really liked the competitive feel when Kylie was playing ball. With the teams egging each other on, it felt like you were sitting there playing with the team, chewing gum and sunflower seeds. As a softball player in my teen years, I loved reminiscing with Kylie and her team as they played their way to the Desert Invitational. The added bonus of boys, prom, and high school make this a well-rounded, fun and flirty read. I wish this book was around when I was a teen. It would be a great addition to any library. Sports fans are sure to enjoy reading about Kylie’s adventures in Stealing Bases.” – Lost for Words

“Once again, Ms. Mikulski just a fantastic job on writing this series. I enjoyed reading each one and enjoy getting in the feel of the characters. I love learning about sport and the passion the characters have for it. I can’t wait to read the next book. This is a series I hooked on and can’t get enough of!” – Books With Bite

“Stealing Bases is another great installment in the Pretty Tough series that blends sports, romance, and great characters.” – A Good Addiction

“I seriously love this series.  Not only is it very fun to read, I also feel like I am learning something about sports.  Each book in the series focuses on a different sport and each book really explains what the sport is all about.  It’s a very interesting concept, especially for what seems like such girly books.” – Katie’s Book Blog

“I played sports in high school, I played basketball and softball so I could really relate to Kylie’s feelings about the games as well as understanding some of the lingo, but I still think that you could get into these books even if you’ve never played sports. I really liked this book, it’s a great  book for both sports lovers as well as lovers of chick-lit!” – A Reading Adventure

Happy Wednesday!

Whatever Wednesday: STEALING BASES Blog Tour and Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

July 13th, 2011

Hey, everyone!

Did you see the AH-mazing World Cup soccer game on Sunday? Wow! I’ve been so pumped up after watching the US Women’s National Team defeat Brazil that I’ve spent the entire week thinking about and channeling the team’s never give up attitude. That’s what I love about sports. One game, one athlete, one season can inspire millions of lives. I can’t wait to watch the final on Sunday.

Also this week, STEALING BASES is on tour with The Teen Book Scene! Five fabulous book bloggers, Erica (The Book Cellar), Corrine (Lost for Words), Mariah (A Reader’s Adventure), Katie (Katie’s Book Blog), and Kari (A Good Addiction) were kind enough to put together and participate in my blog tour. Check out the entire schedule and links here. Did I mention how much I love book bloggers? They’re super sweet, super supportive, and super smart. Thanks, Erica, Corrine, Mariah, Katie, and Kari!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday, Stealing Bases!!

July 7th, 2011

Yay!!! STEALING BASES hits bookstores today!

“Stealing Bases is the perfect book for any girl who’s ever balanced sports with school, falling in love, and dreaming big. It felt so real – I loved it!”

- Jessica Mendoza – Olympic medalist, ESPN correspondent, USA Softball, and President of the Women’s Sports Foundation

Happy Summer!

Whatever Wednesday: STEALING BASES is almost here!

June 29th, 2011

Hey, everyone!

The countdown is on. STEALING BASES hits bookstores next week. Yay!  And now I can finally share with an exciting secret I’ve been keeping for months.

Jessica Mendoza, two-time Olympic medalist, USA Softball, ESPN correspondent, and president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, took time out of her busy schedule to read STEALING BASES. And here’s what she thought about the novel…

“Stealing Bases is the perfect book for any girl who’s ever balanced sports with school, falling in love, and dreaming big. It felt so real – I loved it!”

Yay! This is an absolute dream come true for me since I’m a huge Jessica Mendoza and USA Softball fan!! Thanks bunches to Jessica!!

Happy Wednesday!

Pay it Forward: The Author Edition

June 21st, 2011

Congratulations, Suzanne Young!

Her fabulous book, A Need So Beautiful, releases today! Suzanne is such a sweetie and to celebrate her book’s birthday, I’m participating in a blog tour and giving away a special prize.

A Need So Beautiful is about Charlotte, an angel of the Forgotten who feels the Need – a powerful urge to help someone usually a stranger.

Like Charlotte, an amazing author took time out of her busy schedule to help me – a stranger. We exchanged emails. She sent me book suggestions to help strengthen my writing. She assisted me with my agent decision. She gave me priceless advice like – ‘force yourself to write everyday’ and ‘the only thing you can control in this business is your writing’. Advice I still use today. In fact, I don’t think it was an accident that after her selfless help, I snagged my first book deal. I’m forever grateful to this incredible author and person.

To ‘pay it forward’ today, I’m giving away a first chapter critique and a Skype chat here. Hopefully, I can help someone like my author mentor helped me. Thanks, Alyson Noel!

There are a ton of other authors and bloggers participating in this release day special and giving away lots of fabulous prizes. Check out the links below.

First 3 chapter critique (Jessica at Confessions of a Bookaholic: http://www.totalbookaholic.com/)

YA Lit Swag Bag (Sara at Novel Novice: www.novelnovice.com <http://www.novelnovice.com/> )

Hourglass Order from TBD – Int (Corrine at Lost for Words: http://lostforwords-corrine.blogspot.com <http://lostforwords-corrine.blogspot.com/> )

Random Books (Jessi at The Elliott Review: http://elliottreview.blogspot.com <http://elliottreview.blogspot.com/> )

2 Header/Button Packs (Jessica at Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile: http://www.hopelessbibliophile.com/)

First 3 chapters Critique (Cindy at Books Complete Me: http://www.bookscompleteme.com/)

First 15 pages Critique (Kari at A Good Addiction: http://agoodaddiction.blogspot.com/)

Signed ARC of Hereafter (Kari at A Good Addiction: http://agoodaddiction.blogspot.com/)

Query Letter Critique (Shannon Messenger: http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/)

Signed copy of Invincible Summer – US/Can (Hannah Moskowitz: hannahmosk.blogspot.com <http://hannahmosk.blogspot.com/> )

First Chapter Critique and a Skype Chat (Keri Mikulski: http://kerimikulski.com/books/pay-it-forward-the-author-edition/)

Signed copy of Tell Me a Secret with signed TMAS art print – US (Holly Cupala: http://www.hollycupala.com/search/label/blog)

Signed copy of Chasing Brooklyn – US (Lisa Schroeder: www.lisaschroederbooks.com <http://www.lisaschroederbooks.com/> )

The Pledge Swag Pack including ARC (Kimberly Derting: http://kimberlyderting.blogspot.com/)
Daisy Whitney’s Blog: http://daisywhitney.com/blog/

Then, click here to enter the contest. Below are how to earn extra entries.

Earn one extra entry for each of the following:
Take a picture of an author’s book in the wild and tweet it to us and the author
Post a positive Amazon review for a book you loved
Donate a book to a library or classroom
Tweet a good deed you plan to do this week, using the #ANeedSoBeautiful hashtag

Earn 10 extra entries for each of the following:
Take a picture of A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL in the wild and tweet it to us and Suzanne Young
Post an Amazon review for A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL
Donate a copy of A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL to a library or classroom

Happy Release Day, Suzanne!

Whatever Wednesday: Stealing Bases, Softball, and NJSCBWI

June 8th, 2011

Hey, everyone!

Wow! I can’t believe STEALING BASES‘ book birthday is only one short month away! I’m so excited!

To celebrate the upcoming release, I’ve been watching the Women’s College World Series. Congrats, ASU!

In between tons of softball viewing, I was lucky enough to facilitate a characterization intensive and panels with the Kid Lit Authors Club at the New Jersey Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference.

We had a blast hanging out and chatting with tons of fellow authors, agents, and editors. Check out the fabulous Alissa Grosso, author of POPULAR below. I can’t wait to crack open my signed copy tonight.

Speaking of events, I’ll be at the Moorestown, New Jersey Barnes and Nobles tomorrow from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. with the Kid Lit Authors Club chatting about summer reads and STEALING BASES. If you’re in the area, please stop by and say ‘hi’.

How about you? What’s new?

Happy Wednesday!

Whatever Wednesday: June Book Review Club

June 1st, 2011

The first Wednesday of the month means another edition of The Book Review Club hosted by Barrie Summy, author of the I So Don’t Do Mysteries series. Today, I’m featuring a fabulous summer read with plenty of substance, Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer.

First off, kudos to the Little Brown design team. The cover of Twenty Boy Summer (see below) is one of my favorites of all time. Doesn’t it just scream summer?

Here are four reasons why I loved Twenty Boy Summer…

1. Story – Can you imagine secretly dating your best friend’s brother? Days before Anna and her best friend’s brother, Matt, plan on revealing their secret relationship to the world  Matt dies from an undiagnosed heart condition. This leaves Anna left to deal with her grief in secret and at the same time be there for her best friend, Frankie, as they embark on a California vacation. What a phenomenal story idea.

2. Plot – Ockler weaves together a page-turning plot. The theme of love, loss, and letting go is handled superbly and the novel is stuffed with hidden symbolism. Although the book is sad at times, Ockler adds so many light moments the book never feels heavy or overly-emotional.

3. Setting – I could see, hear, feel and smell the shore setting. Ockler uses an abundance of sensory details to make the reader feel like they’re standing on the California sand. In fact, the writing immediately brought me back to my own summer beach vacations.

4. Characters – From the boys the girls’ meet on vacation to Matt’s parents to Frankie to Anna, the characters are multi-dimensional, vivid, and real. The grief journey the characters travel is honest and deep. I loved the main character, Anna, and felt sympathetic toward her starting on page one.

If you haven’t read this gem already, definitely shove Twenty Boy Summer into your beach bag. I promise you won’t be disappointed with this amazing novel.

For more middle grade, young adult, and adult book reviews and recommendations, click here. Happy Wednesday!

Disclosure: I often receive ARCs and/or books for reviews (most of the time due to my Chick Lit column for South Jersey Mom magazine and sometimes because I’m an author and other times because I beg). However, I do not blog about every book I receive, only the ones I absolutely adore or feel the need to recommend to fans of sporty lit.

Whatever Wednesday: Summertime

May 25th, 2011

Hey everyone!

If the retro tune and one of my all-time faves, Summertime, is playing on my IPod then it only means one thing. Summer is here!

This weekend I’m heading to the Jersey Shore for a mini-vacay. Yay!   I can’t wait to hit the beach and boardwalk with my tribe, watch some softball, and add another amazing novel to my summer reading list.

What about you? What are you doing this weekend? Do you have a summer reading list? If so, have you read any of these goodies?

2011 Summer Reading List

1. Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer

2. Ian O’ Connor’s The Captain

3. Donald Maas’s The Fire in Fiction

4. Kate Arnoldi’s Point Dume

5. Alyson Noel’s Laguna Cove

Happy Memorial Day! And thank you to all the troops and their families for all that you do for our country. You rock.

Whatever Wednesday: WCWS Time

May 18th, 2011

Hey, everyone!

Whew! The first draft of the fifth book in the Pretty Tough Series, MAKING WAVES, is officially done. Yay! I had such a blast writing about sun, sand, and of course, sports. Below is a sneak peek.

In the meantime, I’m psyched to have some free time on my hands because the NCAA Division I Softball Championships kick off on Friday. Yup. Three straight weeks of softball. Pure bliss.

Check out the schedule here.

How about you? What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Wednesday!

Whatever Wednesday: An Amazing Day!

April 13th, 2011

Hey, everyone!

I was honored to spend last Thursday night with some special sporty girls at the Booktowne Bookstore in Manasquan, New Jersey. What a blast sharing sporty stories and talking books with these amazing athletes. The owner even recorded the event and made up the super fun video below. If you’re ever in the Manasquan area, make sure you check out this delightful, gorgeous book store and ask for Rita. Thanks bunches, Booktowne!

Happy Wednesday!