Andrea J. Buchanan's Blog

Friday, June 15, I'll be appearing at the final Girls Write Now CHAPTERS event.

For a limited time, you can get GIFT for just $1.99 on iBooks (includes four original songs!) or Kindle.

I have a new digital short story out today: WAKING UP, available for 99 cents from Amazon -- and like GIFT it has its own playable Minecraft adventure map based on the world of the story.

A bit about the book:

Everyone knows what happens when you become a Twelve. It's all over the Ultranet. And besides that, there are the rumors.... But when Talia Troy learns the true nature of her fate, she decides to fight back. With the help of her computer-genius brother, locked far away in a government facility, she finds a way to resist. And soon her only way out becomes...waking up.

Get the 14K-word short story at Amazon, or find out more about the book and the map at my website!

Fellow writer Anjali Enjeti asked me to answer the question she's asking lots of writers lately: When do you find the time to write? My answer is on her blog today. A little taste:

If you asked me twenty years ago, my answer would have been: in secret, all the time, whenever I wanted, but never for anyone else to read. If you asked me ten years ago, my answer would have been: in the dead of night, after feeding the baby or waking up to put a toddler back to bed after a nightmare; or in the rare, freakish moment when the kids’ naps overlap for even a few blessed minutes; or in the park, on a scrap of paper, just a sentence or two scribbled down before I forget, while the children bicker over sidewalk chalk; or in my head, while I’m making dinner or putting away the toys or changing a diaper or supervising bath time. Today, my answer is closer to what I might have said twenty years ago, except for that pesky “whenever I want” part, which still isn’t possible; and for the fact that now not all of the writing I do is in secret. .... But still my schedule depends on the schedules of those around me, and over the years I’ve gotten better at holding an idea in my head and stretching it out until I can find a moment — usually somewhere in the dark, after everyone else is asleep — to write it down and think through it in words.

You can read the whole entry here at She Started It.

My post at Dear Teen Me is up:

http://dearteenme.com/2012/04/16/dear...

I'm thrilled to announce the publication of my young adult novel, GIFT, out today! As seen in Publishers Weekly, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and on VH1's The Fab Life, GIFT is the story of four friends who must work together to untangle a spooky mystery. And, unlike my previous books, it is being released first as a digital book. (A print version will follow in July.) 

The book's video teaser gives a sneak peek at the enhanced ebook edition, available for iOS devices from iBooks, which features embedded music, videos, art, and text events, all designed to support and enhance the story. It includes four original songs and a music video, all "by" one of the characters from the book; a graphic novel "by" another character, telling the story from her perspective; and another character's secret diary. 

The regular ebook edition, available for e-readers through Amazon, B&N, Google Books, Kobo, and Overdrive, also includes the graphic novel and secret diary. 

The audiobook edition, coming soon from Audible.com, includes all four music tracks, plus several short musical interludes, along with the book's narration. 

The graphic novel included in the book is illustrated by Alexis Seabrook, who worked with me on The Daring Book for Girls. And the music is by Fredrik Larsson, a talented musician from Sweden. 

You can see two music videos from the book on YouTube: "Don't Look Back" (music by Fredrik and lyrics by me); and "Is It All Right?" (music and lyrics by me, made awesome by Fredrik). And you can buy the album of "Music from GIFT" at Amazon.

But wait! There's yet another way to experience GIFT: through the magic of Minecraft! In this specially commissioned map -- based on the world of the book and designed by the shadowy Minecraft map mastermind known only as Vechs (of the Super Hostile series of Minecraft maps) -- the player must conquer the environment and battle bad guys to locate and retrieve special blocks in order to win the game. The map is a free download, and to celebrate its release, Minecraft YouTube-er Joe Hills is playing through the map in his latest daily "Let's Play" video series. 

There's even more to come, but that's the news for now!

For more about Andi, visit: www.andibuchanan.com
For more about the book, visit: www.openyourgift.com
Get the ebook: iBooks | Amazon | B&N | Google Books | Kobo | Overdrive
Like GIFT on Facebook
Get the Minecraft Map!

Today VH1's The Fab Life featured a review of Gift and two songs from the book! The iPad version of the book has its own soundtrack, with four songs "by" one of the characters from the book (Kevin), but REALLY by Fredrik Larsson (of Freddegredde fame), plus four musical interludes. And when the book launches on March 27, you'll be able to see the two music videos for these songs on "Kevin's" YouTube channel!

A nice piece in PW about GIFT and Open Road:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by...

The Wall Street Journal recently published a nice article about enhanced ebooks, and GIFT is one of the ones they covered! GIFT was also their fiction pick on their list of five recommended upcoming ebooks.

Enhanced E-Books: Blowing Up the Book - WSJ.com
Recommended E-Books

The book will be released on March 27 exclusively in digital format, with a print edition to follow in June.