October 8, 2013
Blog Tour: The Rule of Thirds by Chantel Guertin – Guest Post and Giveaway
Thanks for stopping by for our Tour Stop for
The Rule of Thirds by Chantel Guertin
presented by Booking It With Hayley G!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
Sixteen-year-old Pippa Greene never goes anywhere without her camera. She and her best friend/supermodel-in-training Dace long ago mapped out their life plan: Pippa will be the noted fashion photographer, and Dace the cover girl. But ever since last spring, things have changed for Pippa—and her junior year at Spalding High proves to have its own set of challenges. Not only is Vantage Point, the statewide photography competition, in three short weeks, but her mandatory volunteering placement lands her at St. Christopher’s Hospital, a place Pippa never wanted to set foot in again. With humor and pluck, she navigates her new role as a candy striper (watch out for Code Yellows), her changing relationship with her best friend (goodbye, Honesty Pact), and—perhaps most stressful of all—her new love interests (yes, love interests plural). Will Pippa make it to Vantage Point without having a panic attack? Will either one of the guys prove less sketchy than her last boyfriend? Can she and Dace figure out a way to dream big and be best friends? One thing is certain: real life is a lot more complicated than a photograph.
The Rule of Thirds by Chantel Guertin
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: ECW Press
The Do’s and Don’ts in Writing YA
Who am I to tell you the Do’s and Don’ts in writing YA? For the real answers, you should probably ask Meg Cabot, who has about 452 YA novels. However! I do have some rules I realized while writing The Rule of Thirds.
Do make your heroine likeable. Who wants to read about someone they don’t like? This doesn’t mean she can’t do bad things, but even bad characters are likeable in their own way.
Do make the rest of your characters likeable (even if it’s in a love-to-hate-them way)
Don’t make your characters perfect. No teen is perfect. No adult is perfect.
Do listen to the way your friends, your teachers, your mom, your sister talk. Make your characters talk in a realistic way.
Don’t edit along the way. Get your ideas down. Take a break, then go back and see what parts you love reading, and which you can cut.
Do make a scrapbook or inspiration book of your characters. Cut out pics from magazines that remind you of your characters – and what they’d wear, say, and do. It’s fun and it’s a useful reference as you’re writing.
Do have fun. This is your story. If you love it, chances are others will too.
Chantel Guertin is an author, beauty expert and magazine editor. Her first novel (written as Chantel Simmons), Stuck in Downward Dog, came out in 2007, and was a Winnipeg Free Press bestseller, a Chatelaine Best Beach Book and Book of the Month, and a Vancouver Sun Editor’s Choice. Her second novel, Love Struck, came out in 2010, and was also a bestseller in Canada.
Chantel is currently the Editor-at-Large of TheKit.ca, a monthly digital fashion & beauty magazine & weekly print feature in the Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette & Vancouver Sun, a beauty expert on The Marilyn Denis Show and faculty at Centennial College in the Book & Magazine publishing program, where she teaches magazine writing and editing courses.
Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this tour!
October 2nd – BOOK NERD CANADA – Review
October 3rd – THE BOOK LIFE – Review
October 4th – FICTIONATORS – Review
October 5th – NICOLE ABOUT TOWN – Review
October 6th – BOOK COVER JUSTICE – Review
October 7th – READ MY BREATH AWAY – Review + Guest Post
October 8th – CHAPTER BY CHAPTER – Spotlight + Guest Post
October 9th – SEEING NIGHT REVIEWS – Review
October 10th – MOOSUBI REVIEWS – Review
October 11th – BOOKSHIPPER – Spotlight + Author Interview
October 12th – NIGHTLY READING – Review
October 13rd – THE BOOK BELLES – Review + Top Ten List
Complete the Form below for a chance to win a physical copy of
The Rule of Thirds by Chantel Guertin
US/Canada Only
WINNER! JESSICA B.!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
18 Comments
10/8/2013
I really want to get my hands on this book! It looks fantastic.
10/8/2013
I have to agree with every DO on Chantel’s list. I have to have a likable protagonist or I can’t enjoy a book. The secondary characters should be fun or silly or likable in some way also.
10/8/2013
I would really like to read this book!! It sounds really good to me!! Thank you for the chance!
10/8/2013
This looks like a terrific read. I’d love
to check it out!
10/8/2013
This book looks great. Thanks for the giveaway
Michelle @ Book Briefs
10/8/2013
Likeable but imperfect characters definitely help me like a book!
10/8/2013
I love the cover of this book. I wish I’d heard about it before, unless it’s just releasing? And the blurb makes this book sound so interesting! I hope I get to read it soon! :D
10/9/2013
it sounds like a great book! thanks fir the dos and don’ts too!
10/9/2013
Gorgeous cover, and I automatically want to read any book where the heroine does things with humor and pluck, my kind of girl.
10/9/2013
Thanks for the giveaway!
10/10/2013
I guess the only hangup with this book is the love interest(s). I can only hope that doesn’t mean a love triange
10/11/2013
looks like a great read!
10/12/2013
looks great!
10/13/2013
This book sounds great–can’t wait to read it :)
And I love the tips–I need to work on not editing along the way (it’s my ultimate downfall) and I love the scrapbook idea–maybe a Pinterest board? ;D
10/13/2013
This book sounds so good! I haven’t heard of it but I’m definitely adding it to my TBR and wish list!! I’m so looking forward to reading this one! Thank you so much for having this awesome giveaway!!
10/14/2013
Thanks for the giveaway!
10/17/2013
This book looks seriously good. Thanks!
10/17/2013
Ooh this looks awesome! I definitely agree with the dos and don’ts. Perfect characters get on my nerves!