The Debut Dish: Erica Cameron, Christina Farley, Sashi Kaufman, Lynne Matson & Kory M. Shrum
welcome to the debut dish!
What exactly is The Debut Dish? Well it’s a way to highlight a debut authors and their book. Perhaps after you read The Dish, you might want to pick one of them up! And if you’re participating in the Debut Author Challenge this is a great way to find books for your challenge list!
Sing Sweet Nightingale by Erica Cameron
March 4th 2014 | Spencer Hill Press
website | goodreads
She pledged her voice to Orane, the man she loves—someone she only sees in her dreams. Each night, she escapes to Paradise, the world Orane created for her, and she sings for him. Mariella never believed she could stay in Paradise longer than a night, but two weeks before her eighteenth birthday, Orane hints that she may be able to stay forever.
Hudson Vincent made a pledge to never fight again.
Calease, the creature who created his dream world, swore that giving up violence would protect Hudson. But when his vow caused the death of his little brother, Hudson turned his grief on Calease and destroyed the dream world. The battle left him with new abilities and disturbing visions of a silent girl in grave danger—Mariella.
Now, Hudson is fighting to save Mariella’s life while she fights to give it away. And he must find a way to show her Orane’s true intentions before she is lost to Paradise forever.
Describe your book in five words or less.
Dreams, silence, promises, lies, and strength.
Why should readers pick up your book?
One of the things I love about The Dream War world is that it take a lot of things that are usually ordinary and makes them special. Talents people have, dreams, jewelry, all of it takes on special significance in the series. Also, I got to play around with the metaphysical properties of gemstones and crystals, something I grew up knowing about, but a subject most people aren’t aware exists. It was a lot of fun and makes for some cool scenes!
What’s the best thing about being a debut author?
Well, I can only guess on this one since I don’t really have anything to compare it to yet, but probably the freshness of everything. I get to do a bunch of things–meeting bloggers, watching readers discover my book, go through the editing process, see my cover–for the FIRST time. That won’t ever happen again with any other book I write. It will all still be awesome, but it won’t ever happen again with this level of awe.
What’s your favorite movie theatre candy?
Snowcaps! And popcorn. Preferably together. I have a thing for salty and sweet in the same bite.
What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
Coils and coils of jewelry wire. I love making shiny things and tend to drop the wire I’m not using on my desk.
Gilded by Christina L. Farley
March 1st 2014 | Skyscape
website | goodreads
Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself. When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting in to a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather. Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god, Haemosu, has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she’s next.
But that’s not Jae’s only problem.
There’s also Marc. Irresistible and charming, Marc threatens to break the barriers around Jae’s heart. As the two grow closer, Jae must decide if she can trust him. But Marc has a secret of his own—one that could help Jae overturn the curse on her family for good. It turns out that Jae’s been wrong about a lot of things: her grandfather is her greatest ally, even the tough girl can fall in love, and Korea might just be the home she’s always been looking for.
Describe your book in five words or less.
Vivid, action-packed, passionate
Why should readers pick up your book?
If you’re a reader that’s looking for a unique setting, strong female characters, and Asian mythology then this is the book for you. Think an Asian Percy Jackson for teens.
What’s the best thing about being a debut author?
I would say it’s the reader community. I never expected so many people to come behind Jae’s story and be supportive of it. I was worried that many people wouldn’t ‘get’ the Korean element or find it interesting. So it thrills me that that is the part that has drawn them to the story. I’m also so appreciative of the debut author groups that I’ve been a part of for their support and encouragement.
What’s your favorite movie theatre candy?
Twizzlers
What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
It’s a toss-up between my homemade Chewbacca snow globe and my terra cotta warriors that I bought while visiting Xi’an, China.
The Other Way Around by Sashi Kaufman
March 1st 2014 | Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab
website | goodreads
Andrew West goes to an all-girls school and he still can’t get a date. If that’s not bad enough, his Mom is the headmaster. Everyone seems to have the wrong idea about Andrew. His teachers think he’s a good student who doesn’t apply himself -he really is trying. The kids at his old school thought he was a goth. His cousin Barry thinks he’s gay.
When his Thanksgiving break goes tragically awry he decides to run away. He catches a ride with a strange group of older teenagers. The Freegans are street performers and dumpster divers. As Andrew travels the country with his new friends he leaves behind the expectations of others and discovers what he expects of himself.
Describe your book in five words or less.
Runaway dumpster-diving road trip rebellion. Yes dumpster-diving is clearly a hyphenated single word!
Why should readers pick up your book?
Readers should pick up my book because of the quirky and genuine characters they will fall in love with. They will experience an alternative kind of coming of age journey through the slightly skeptical, ever observant eyes of Andrew West. And if that’s not enough, there’s body painting, pool hopping, hula hooping, and farm animals!
What’s the best thing about being a debut author?
The best part of being a debut author is sharing the final product with my friends and family. Of course I’m thrilled that the rest of the world will get to read it too. But sharing this part of my creative self with the people who know me best is really delicious.
What’s your favorite movie theatre candy?
Junior Mints –no contest.
What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
So hard to pick just one. I think I’d have to go with this piece of clam shell I found at the beach last summer. It fits perfectly in my hand and on one side it has all these straight lines so I wrote the word order on it with sharpie. The other side has all these crazy dark swirling patterns so I wrote the word storm. I think it’s a good symbol of how my brain is much of the time. If that’s not odd enough I also have the remote control for a window air conditioner unit and it’s 7 degrees in Maine today.
Nil by Lynne Matson
March 4th 2014 | Henry Holt
website | goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.
Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.
Describe your book in five words or less.
Creepy, tense, gorgeous, mysterious, fated
Why should readers pick up your book?
Because I’ll love them forever?! lol Seriously, NIL a perfect spring break read. It’s a virtual island escape, to a place you’d never want to be. NIL is first and foremost a survival story, but it’s also a story of love and friendship and HOPE.
What’s the best thing about being a debut author?
The readers! For me, it’s knowing that the story I worked so hard to create (think years!) will finally make it into readers’ hands. It’s truly a dream come true, and I’m grateful for the chance. Readers bring NIL to life.
What’s your favorite movie theatre candy?
Classic M&M’s. Butterfinger bites are a close second.:)
What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
Probably the pile of Rainbow Loom bracelets made by my sweet 6 year- old. They. Are. Everywhere. And those little rubber bands are sneaky.:)
Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum
March 4th 2014 | Timberlane Press
website | goodreads
On the morning before her 67th death, it is business as usual for Jesse Sullivan: meet with the mortician, counsel soon-to-be-dead clients, and have coffee while reading the latest regeneration theory. Jesse dies for a living, literally. As a Necronite, she is one of the population’s rare 2% who can serve as a death replacement agent, dying so others don’t have to. Although each death is different, the result is the same: a life is saved, and Jesse resurrects days later with sore muscles, new scars, and another hole in her memory.
But when Jesse is murdered and becomes the sole suspect in a federal investigation, more than her freedom and sanity are at stake. She must catch the killer herself—or die trying.
Describe your book in five words or less.
Girl dies again and again.
Why should readers pick up your book?
If they like original concepts and urban fantasy, they will like this.
What’s the best thing about being a debut author?
Everything is new and exciting. All the possibility! 
What’s your favorite movie theatre candy?
If popcorn doesn’t count, then it’s got to be the Junior mints (with the popcorn, in my mouth, at the same time)
What’s the oddest thing on your desk right now?
A pile of student essays. Odd because who knows what you’ll get when I’m in charge. 
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