Spreading Awesome about The Body Finder!

Leave a comment on this post telling me what ability you'd love to have if you could. (you must be a follower to win!) At midnight Monday (PST), I will do a random drawing. If you sign up for my new book marketing newsletter! or already did (on the left hand side) - let me know and I'll add your name in the hat an extra time!

And the prize? You will get a free Body Finder package that includes a tote bag (filled with swag) and a signed book of The Body Finder (Just to be clear - it is signed by Kimberly not me :)

Elana Johnson pulled together some authors to talk about their favorite book recently read.

I chose Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder. Seriously, go buy it!!!

A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her.

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. Now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Jay reluctantly agrees to help. As she falls intensely in love for the first time, Violet gets closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

O.K. so this book is the kind of book that keeps you up late - even when you know your kids will be up at dawn - reading. I read this book in 2 days because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Every minute of sleep I lost was sooooo worth it. If you like James Patterson and paranormal stuff, you will love this because it mixes the two nicely. In addition, the way she writers in third person feels so personal and intimate - attributes I attached more to first person than third.

I met Kimberly last year at SCBWI LA. We were blogger buddies and had never met in person. We exchanged emails and took a chance on rooming which I think was not in character for either of us. I mean she LOOKED normal enough, right? :) (I think we both secretly prayed when we showed up, the other was not going to be a 300 lb man with hair on his back who favored tighty whities. :)

Kimberly and I immediately hit it off and I am totally confident we will be forever friends. (This is where you say - awwwwwwww!)

For those who get skittish about meeting your blogger buddies - just know that sometimes you might meet a soul mate and lifelong friend. (just be wise and always meet in a public place:)

If you are cool, you will follow her at her blog, on FB, and on twitter! :)

Here are a few fun and informative questions I threw at her:

What is the hardest part about being a published author?

For me, the hardest part about being an author is finding enough time to do everything. What most people probably don’t realize (including me until I was published) is how time consuming the non-writer side of things can be. Don’t get wrong, I love the interviews, Facebooking, blogging, etc., but sometimes I need to remember that my actual job is…oh yeah, being a writer!!! *runs to check Twitter for the 50th time today*

What is the easiest part about being published?

Definitely my commute! I love that I can just roll out of bed and start writing. Well, I mean after I make breakfast and get two kids off to school. And pick up the house, of course. And after I run all my errands and pay the bills so the lights stay on. And, oh, I need to figure out dinner plans for tonight, and I can’t forget to get the youngest off the bus…again (thank God for my neighbors)! Wait, what was the question…???

What do you wish you knew about writing and publishing before you got an agent and book contract?

I may be naive but I never realized that publishers will sometimes delay book release dates. Harper delayed the release of The Body Finder by six months, and at the time I thought it was the end of the world! Now, when I look back, I’m so SO happy they did it. Harper did an amazing job creating buzz for my book during those extra six months which I think made a huge difference! It also gave me a chance to really, really get prepared. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t cry when I first found out the delay.

If you could chose your destiny – what would it be?

Ok, so THAT is the by far the hardest question I’ve ever been asked! Thanks a lot, Shellie, I thought we were friends!!! Geez, we even shared a bed once! Disclaimer: Shellie and I were roommates at the SCBWI and it was either make a pregnant Lindsey Leavitt sleep on the floor or share a bed. We shared the bed. You’re welcome, Lindsey!

Let’s see, if I could choose my destiny? Is happiness a destiny? I know, it’s cheesy, but that’s all I really want from both my personal and professional lives. I feel very fortunate to have a supportive family, a job that I love, and a bunch of really great friends, so what more could a girl want?

Or maybe to write a book as popular as Harry Potter or Twilight. Either destiny works for me! :)

What do you think? Do you have any questions for Kimberly about the publishing business/process? She'll give you the inside scoop so leave them here and be entered into the drawing.

Also, if you want to read about another great book, check out Angie's Smibert's thoughts on M.T. Andersen's Feed. Or you can check out the full list of AWESOME books on her blog.