Douglas Preston and Stephen Colbert are going to be just fine. They're well-established and can easily reach tens of thousands--if not millions--of readers. But when you're a debut, you don't have a following yet. Except for your parents and your great-aunt Lillian (and maybe a few online friends), no one is going to seek your book out, so if the largest retailer in the land pulls the plug, where does that leave you?
In need of a little help.
In that spirit, I'm spotlighting OneFourKidLit members and Fearless Fifteeners today whose books are available almost everywhere (or soon-to-be available almost everywhere). I haven't read any of these books, so I don't know anything about them (other than what I gleaned on Goodreads), but if anyone deserves a blind shout-out, they do.
SALT & STORM by Kendall Kulper
(available on September 23, 2014)
Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe at sea, but her mother has forced her into a magic-free world of proper manners and respectability. When Avery dreams she's to be murdered, she knows time is running out to unlock her magic and save herself.
Avery finds an unexpected ally in a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane--a sailor with magic of his own, who moves Avery in ways she never expected. Becoming a witch might stop her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers her magic requires a sacrifice she never prepared for.
ILLUSIVE by Emily Lloyd-Jones
(available now!)
When the MK virus swept across the planet, a vaccine was created to stop the epidemic, but it came with some unexpected side effects. A small percentage of the population developed superhero-like powers. Seventeen-year-old Ciere Giba has the handy ability to change her appearance at will. She's what's known as an illusionist...She's also a thief.
After a robbery goes awry, Ciere must team up with a group of fellow super-powered criminals on another job that most would consider too reckless. The formula for the vaccine that gave them their abilities was supposedly destroyed years ago. But what if it wasn't?
The lines between good and bad, us and them, and freedom and entrapment are blurred as Ciere and the rest of her crew become embroiled in a deadly race against the government that could cost them their lives.
In the interest of full disclosure, you can still buy ILLUSIVE at Amazon, but without the regular discounts.
THE WITCH HUNTER by Virginia Boecker
(available on June 1, 2015)
The Witch Hunter is set in an alternative 16th-century London. In the story, pitched as Shadow and Bone meets The Tudors, the only girl in the king's elite group of witch hunters is framed for being a witch herself, finding freedom at the hands of the world's most wanted wizard.
THE WITCH HUNTER isn't available for pre-order anywhere (yet), but if these shenanigans continue, it will get caught up in the same net, no doubt. So keep an eye out for fellow Fearless Fifteener Virginia Boecker's THE WITCH HUNTER!
Which of your favorite books have been caught up in this madness? Feel free to give them a shout-out in the comments! (They don't necessarily have to be debuts, but if they are, bonus points!)
I also love Jennifer E Smith's THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE, and THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME, all of which are Hachette titles. And agent sister Amy Spalding's KISSING TED CALLAHAN (AND OTHER GUYS) is forthcoming from Poppy, so you can't pre-order it from the Company That Must Not Be Named.
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