1/10/12

A Million Suns Launch Party!!!!






Today we’re celebrating the launch of Beth Revis’s A MILLION SUNS by participating in the Virtual Party! Each hour of the day, from 9am to 5pm EST, there will be a different feature on a different blog. And each stop, in true party fashion, will have a party favor to give out—in the form of a signed book plus some cool swag—and a party game: a puzzle piece to a truly epic prize for one winner! So read on to find out exclusive information about A MILLION SUNS and enter to win a signed book!

INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE

One of the most common things I'm asked is, "where does your inspiration come from?" And the truth of the matter is....



I don't know.



Honest! I have no idea where I'll get an idea. It could be something complex, like a what-if question. It could come from reading a good book...or even a bad one. But it's often a combination of many of these things.



Usually, my big ideas stem from what-if questions that come from a lifetime of curiosity and cramming my head full of good books and good movies. Part of the mystery of my books comes from dozens of Agatha Christie novels. The sci fi setting came from a love of (a) astronomy, and (b) Sailor Moon.



But the little details sometimes have the best stories. For example: Harley. Harley was supposed to be a minor character who was only in one scene that I was writing on that took place in the Hospital. One of my students had painted a koi fish, and so I made the extra character an artist. My student's name is Charly, so I named the character Harley. From that one scene came Harley, Elder's best friend, complete with a backstory, a dead girlfriend, and a tragic twist.



I hold onto interesting things, like water holds onto a sponge. I'm always on the lookout for something that can inspire me. And here's a detail that I perhaps shouldn't be sharing yet...



In 2010, I was on a European field trip, my last official duty as a teacher. And while there, we saw a glass-making demonstration in Venice, Italy. I popped out my camera and filmed it quickly. And here's the secret: there is something in this video that was an important inspiration for SHADES OF EARTH, the last book of the AtU trilogy. I won't say what it is, but there's something in this video that has made it's way to the final book.






Thanks for stopping by today as a part of the Virtual LaunchParty for A MILLION SUNS! To help celebrate, one commenter on this post will receive a signed paperback of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the first book of the trilogy, along with some custom swag, including a poster, an art print of a koi
fish (made by the student who inspired Beth to write the character Harley), NASA goodies, and
more. This contest is open internationally, and will end in 24 hours.

JUST COMMENT ON THIS POST TO ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS PRIZE!


Make sure you go back to Beth’s website for full details onthe party. Visit every site in the party to gather clues that will enable you to enter for the GRAND PRIZE—a signed paperback of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, a signed hardback of A MILLION SUNS, an exclusive water bottle, a poster, an art
print, and more!

In order to win that grand prize, you need a clue. And the clue for this blog stop is...





147 comments:

Candace said...

Love the koi pond pic, beautiful!
Thanks for the giveaway!

Candace
lovemibooks@aol.com

Tabitha Michelle said...

I cannot wait to read A Million Suns! :)

Rachel said...

Really excited to read A Million Suns! I feel like I am one of the last to do so.

rachelibrarian@gmail.com

The Lovely Reader said...

Hmmm. Curious as to what in that video will be in the final book. Cannot wait to read A MILLION SUNS, though :) Each stop makes me more and more excited. Thanks for the contest and interview!

barbrafl737 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being the final stop in the hop! Love the blog! *crossing fingers for the win!* howdymomma(at)yahoo(dot)com

Crystal said...

Glass blowing is such an awesome thing to watch. My sister did it for a while and it is insanely hard.

crystalseviltwin@gmail.com

Crystal said...

Cant wait to read this book...so excited!

Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

californiablue17@aol.com

Jenny said...

The picture is amazing! If you have any other work by Charly, please show us Beth!

A. K. Fotinos-Hoyer said...

hmm, it will be interesting to puzzle out the connection to that glass-blowing demo!

Unknown said...

I agree with Rachel! All the blogs I follow have already reviewed it, i feel left out Lol! But it's FINALLY out so now I won't have to feel that way much longer! :)
Dauntless (dot) seven (dot) of (dot) nine (at) gmail.com

Carina Olsen said...

I have loved this "blog hunt" :D Thank you for the giveaway. <3
Love, Carina

Katie said...

Thank you so much for the giveaway :)

katiebk12 at gmail dot com

Charlee Hoffman said...

That horse was freaking unbelievable!!!

CV

Bethany said...

I can't see the vid at work! Better get home quick after work :)
Bethany
bethany0728 at gmail dot com

starryeyedjen said...

So many riddles to solve! She likes to keep us guessing! I can't wait to read AMS and start trying to figure everything out!

mrsjbruce(at)gmail(dot)com

The Reading Date said...

My curiosity is piqued about the glass blowing and how it relates to the last book. This has been a fun scavenger hunt!

DancingJoy said...

This is the coolest thing ever!

Amanda Welling said...

So excited to read A Million Suns!! And Agatha Christie has always been a favorite of mine too :D

Amanda
hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

i enjoyed the entire day. thanks for organizing such an interesting event.

Victoria said...

I'm so glad that Harley became so important to the story. I loved him. Thank you again. This was so much fun.

vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

sawcat said...

Glass making is a fascinating process. Interested to find out how that inspires the next book

booklove at sawcatsverse dot com

LittleFoot said...

The still of the video made me pause. I won't even try to guess what the significance is, I'm terrible at these things. Guess a long wait is in store for me.
Can't wait for my copy of AMS to arrive.

Amanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amanda said...

I saw some glass blowing on a school trip too! It was soo beautiful and gte this! The guys made a horse too! Except it was no where Italy. No it was in Niagara Falls.

ajtse@hotmail.com

Ariel Wilson said...

Last clue! This is so exciting :D

Emily said...

last one! Whew. It's been a productive day (not). Oh well :) Hope I win one of them!

Vivien said...

Can't wait for this one!! Definitely on my must haves....mailman hurry!

Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

Cassidy said...

So true! Inspiration is everywhere.

Jessirae said...

Always loved Harley. He was awesome.

I can't wait for my AMS to come in. I loved ATU and I'm ready to dive into Amy and Elder's world :]

Thanks so much for this! It has been a blast :D

xjessirae(at)gmail(dot)com

Anstice Brown said...

That's so inspiring and the picture is beautiful!

Girl Who Reads said...

It has been a great virtual launch party.

donna1877 at gmail dot com

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

That glass making was amazing!! I've always been fascinated by it and that man made it look so easy! Thanks for the giveaway!! :)
sarabara081(at)aol(dot)com

Juli said...

Awesome :)

jmbishop2@gmail.com

roro said...

can]t wait 2 read a million suns /droolin lol

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being a party host!

Mandy IReadIndie said...

sign me up!!!
twimom101 @ yahoo .com

Merenwen said...

Love the koi picture :) Thanks for great launch party!

merenwen4(at)gmail(dot)com

Minas said...

Can't wait to read A Million Suns!

minas_1989(at)hotmail(dot)com

miki said...

The koi is wonderful, very talentous artist

i hope i got all the clues right ^^

thanks you again for this great event and opportunity international to win

all the best

isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com

Bwyatt said...

Beautiful Koi print. Thanks for the giveaway! I cannot wait to find out what happens to Elder and Amy!
britneywyatt[at]gmail[dot]com

Unknown said...

This has been so fun today! Thanks to all the bloggers and Beth for the treat! Cannot wait for the final book!!! whooot

supagurlheather@gmail.com

Eric said...

Wow, that video was so cool to watch. Thanks for sharing it. I'm crossing my fingers now, because I really really want to win :)

Unknown said...

A Million Suns is on my top list of books to get this week! I can't wait to read it and love even more (if possible) than I did with Across the Universe. Thank you so much for what you guys are doing! Oh, and I just love the picture of the Koi Fish. Is it really beautiful! Thank you again!

caymanian_girl(at)earthlink(dot)net

Michelle said...

Loving this!

hisladydiaz@yahoo.com

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

Inspiration is awesome. It really does strike anywhere. Yay for book birthdays!

Books Are Magic said...

I have yet to read Across the Universe!! But I just know it'll be amazing :D

booksaremagic44@yahoo.com

Anya said...

Wonderful giveaway and definitely can't wait to read A Million Suns

anya dot sandoval at yahoo dot com

Good luck to all!

Anya

F. S. Poesy said...

Almost missed this one. Here's hoping for a win!

Bianca said...

You cannot believe how excited i was when i saw this was out today. I cant wait to read A million suns. :D :D :D Thankyou for writing it, and also for the awesome giveaway :) x
bianca16894@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Whew! What a tour! :-) I've had a ton of fun learning more about Beth and the process of bringing these books to us.

Hope I'm a lucky winner!

KTuccelli (at) gmail

Nicki said...

Loved ATU I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of AMS!

Thanks for the giveaway!

korra_950(at)hotmail(dot)com

John McMahon said...

Excellent idea to encourage folks to read ATU! Keep at it!

Julia K said...

That glass blowing video was incredibly cool. I have no idea what might be in Shades of Earth from it, though... maybe pink horses?

Love Between Pages said...

Fantastic!!!

BookStacksOnDeck said...

Wow! That glass-making is so rad! Can't wait to read this book!
bookstacksondeck[at]gmail[dot]com

Drina said...

I don't know what that has to do with Shades of Earth, but the glass-making was amazing!

Jonna said...

Love the contests!

Michele said...

very cool pic

jmluker at winco dot net

ArtemisG said...

The painting is so beautiful. It was fun. Thank you for the great giveaway!

artgiote at gmail dot com

barmybex said...

I love that picture of the Koi, so beautiful! :D

Jill Kaplan said...

Wow, that glassmaking was really cool, especially the horse. I wonder which part of the video will be in Shades of Earth, but I guess I'll have to wait and see :)

Michelle said...

Thanks for doing the giveaway, cant wait to get my hands on this book!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I love learning the story behind the koi, and I cried when Harley died!! I loved him. :)

Dusty said...

Thanks for the amazing giveaway! Can't wait to read A Million Suns!
dustyfrance@gmail.com

Mark said...

Wow, loved the glass horse! that's so cool!

angelaweber@live.ca

Unknown said...

So excited! Cannot wait to get my hands on A Million Suns!

Annie said...

Awesome! I cannot wait to read Across the Universe! :D
Thanks for the giveaway :)

llavedetintablog at gmail dot com

Madison said...

This blog is super cute! I love Across the Universe and can't wait to read A Million Suns!

Deborah Julene said...

Thank you so much for this giveaway! I can't wait to read A Million Suns!

Kristi said...

That's such an awesome video! I love stuff like that. Thanks for being part of the tour. :)

Kristi S.
quailsrock23(at)yahoo(dot)com

In Julie's Opinion said...

I've loved learning so much about Beth and the books, and how it all came about, by following this launch party! Thanks so much for all the fun, and for the amazing giveaways!!

jwitt33 at live dot com

Anonymous said...

Ooh! I hadn't actually seen the koi fish print well. Only as a tiny bit on a card in that picture. :D

Good artist. *would know*

Kat said...

These blog hops are getting more and more excited! I really wonder what from this video was used in Shades of Earth. It could be anything really so I'm not gonna be a smart ass and try to solve this mystery.

Thanks for the giveaway! :)

katie(dot)sijanec(at)gmail(dot)com

Becky B. @ Bibliognome said...

Love all the extras today and really looking forward to the third book too now. :)

geckyboz[at]gmail[dot]com

Sequoia said...

I really love this launch party and giveaway(s)! Thank you for creating it!

Plus I really love your background colors of the stars <3


Sequoia
s.cartwright0915@gmail.com

Melissa @thereaderandthechef said...

Glass making is so beautiful! I wonder what made it into the final book.. hmm, guess I'll have to wait. *darn*

Thanks for hosting this giveaway!

melissa_rob16(at)hotmail(dot)com

~Courtney said...

Beautiful artwork. Can't wait for the books!

Anonymous said...

I'm excited to see how that video will play out in the final book - very interesting!

xkamsx[@]gmail.com

Monica T ♥ said...

I am so excited for A Million Suns! After the last word in Across the Universe, I wanted to get my hands on the sequel!!

monicascat (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

Renée said...

I cant wait to get my hands on A Million Suns! I need to know what happends next to little Fish!

X Renée

reneevossen@gmail.com

Michelle said...

No idea what the connection could be! Can't wait to see when book three comes out!

Katie Dunn said...

That was beautiful! One hell of a hint!

kathleendotdoyle88atyahoodotcom

Megan at Book Brats said...

Love the artwork, and love love love the video! I love handmade stuff, hehe. And I can't wait to read A Million Suns! Thanks for the contest!

bookbrats at gmail dot com

Gabbie said...

I wanted to do a glass blowing course but it is so expensive here.
Can't wait to see how it all ends.

Gabbie-ethela(at)hotmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

Ive never seen glass blowiing before but that was awesome !! I bet the horse will be In Shades of Earth !! I can just envisage him... and the rest seeing the horse runing across the fields what A sight that will be for Elder ! lol.. I havent read A Million Suns yet. but certainly cant wait !! thanks for a wonderful party !! Learnt some really great things along the way !!

kat

kittee_cat@bigpond.com

Sarah (Escaping Through Books) said...

I loved Harley, so I'm very glad he became much more than just a minor character in one scene in Across the Universe!

Sarah
escapingthroughbooks (at) gmail (dot) com

Julie said...

Ahhh! Absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on A Million Suns!

Library Lady said...

I am super excited to read A Million Suns! I can't wait to get a copy!!
adsanders77 at gmail dot com

Christina Farley said...

My boys adored the video. They said that they wanted to make glass too!

latishajean said...

Thank you very much for this great giveaway! What a lot of fun thanks for the great posts!
tishajean@ charter.net

bookworm105 said...

Tanks for the giveaway!

hikaru105.bookworm105@gmail.com

melannie (: said...

Oooo! I'm getting more and more excited for Shades of the Earth! and AMS is barely out! heehee

(:


lovebug[dot]mel[at]gmail[dot]com

Jeanni said...

I'm so excited for this book!

Amanda D. said...

thank you for this amazing giveaway!
amanda.douglas.creative@gmail.com

Book Sp(l)ot said...

I so, so very much want to take a glass blowing class . . . it intrigues me so much. Kind of scares me, but I think it would be so amazing to know how to to do that!!

book.splot [at] gmail [dot] com

Anonymous said...

This is awesome!! Best giveaway ever!! I love Across the Universe and BETH!!! omg she's great!! Time to start A MILLION SUNS!! YAY \^o^/

Amanda said...

So excited to start reading A Million Suns!
Thanks :)
amelno(at)gmail(dot)com

Anna Copeland said...

So happy the book is finaly out. Been looking forward to it. Thanks for doing all this.

Mary Preston said...

A MILLION SUNS tops my wish list. I'm looking forward to this so much.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Triquetra said...

Thanks for hosting the giveaway!

This was so much fun!

princefluffbelle(at)yahoo(dot)com

Joan said...

This was fun after a long work day! And I have to say, that I love the cutaway of the ship. Joan

Meg said...

What an awesome video! Now I am incredibly intrigued and will have to go back and read again after I finish "A Million Suns." P.S....can I buy that horse? ;)

Ana said...

I wonder what the glass-making inspiration is...another thing to be curious about (the mysterious black page)! Thank you for the giveaway!!
~Ana
bluestar22yl@gmail.com

AlouyMartinez said...

I can't wait to read A Million Suns Beth Revis is an amazing writer.

wordsmaykillyou@gmail.com

Larissa said...

Fun! Can't wait to read AMS and see what made it into SoE. :)

lchardesty at yahoo dot com

ephrielle said...

I only found out about this virtual party after joining the Twitter party. It was intense. So excited for the book.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the giveaway (:

Diana Julianna said...

Awesome, thanks! :D

thereviewsnews(at)gmail(dot)com

Gabrielle Carolina said...

Oh, gasp, that is amazing. I'm just mesmerized by that forming horse.

G.C.

Nikki said...

Great virtual launch party since I live nowhere near the real one. Yay!

jackandnumbers(at)hotmail(dot)com

Karen said...

Wow!!! Congrats to the release!!! I cannot wait to get my hands on the book!!! (Loved the first book!)
Thanks!! I'm anticipating the third :)

golfgirl96@gmail.com

Joy said...

Loving this release party! Congrats on the release on A Million Suns!

davisjoy@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I've seen glass blowing demonstrations before, they're so cool! Can't wait to see what's in SOE!!! But of course I need to read AMS first! Haha.

Emma Katherine said...

WOAH!!! SUPER INCREDIBLE!!! THANKS FOR THE AWESOME GIVEAWAY AND I CANNOT WAIT TO READ A MILLION SUNS!!! :D

elueckler@gmail.com

aparajita said...

love the koi fish art....

thanks for the giveaway

aparajita_19@hotmail.com

Melissa/welachild said...

I can't wait to read A MILLION SUNS after all these fun posts!
Thanks for doing the giveaway.
Itwasemotional (at) yahoo (dot) com

Anonymous said...

The whole process of making glass is amazing and the koi fish with a water lily art is beautiful.

Great virtual release party :-)

safaripoet@live.com

Vi Win Win said...

I've always loved watching how they make glass. Thanks for the giveaway!

vi3ti3abe at gmail.com

michaela said...

hello :)

Baggins said...

That video was seriously amazing - it looks so easy, but I'm not fooled!! ;-) Though now I do wonder how it inspired Beth. I look forward to finding out!

Thanks for sharing, and for the giveaway!

Baggins
bookishbaggins(at)gmail(dot)com

TheGirlOnFire said...

I wish I was reading this right now! Thanks for the chance to win!



thegirlonfire27

thegirlonfire27 at gmail dot com

Lisa said...

I'm very anxious to read AMS!! I saw a live demo of glass making in Italy :)

TayteH said...

OMG that video is so cool. I want that vase now. :D And the picture of the koi, beautiful. :D

Elisquared said...

I love glass blowing and glass melting. I think it is such an amazing craft, and the people who do it are so amazing!

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of A Million Stars!

Thanks for the giveaway!
-Elisquared
eliweibley AT gmail DOT com

IdentitySeeker said...

Wow! It's amazing how you derived Harley's character from a student in your class. I love the koi painting! Thank you for writing Across the Universe. I am eagerly awaiting A Million Suns:)

Best wishes for 2012!

Sarah

sarah.setar@gmail.com

Michael @ The Bookshelf Review said...

Thanks for the awesome giveaway. Can't wait to read A Million Suns. =]
Michael
thebookshelfreview@gmail.com

Tara said...

Wow! This prize pack looks amazing! I absolutely love the paperback cover!

TaraTagli at gmail dot com

ansindt said...

I love to watch glass blowing..It is very mesmerizing=) Thanks for the great interview=)

ansindt@hotmail.com

Misty said...

I am so happy for you Beth, book 2 is a great place to be in life!

mistyATlg2DOTcomDOTau

Amber at The Musings of ALMYBNENR said...

I really love the koi!

amberr610[at]gmail[dot]com

Dorina said...

great! greetings from germany! :)

Litza said...

AHH! Glass-making is so awesome! Oh man... I am BEYOND excited for A Million Suns!!!

Thanks! :)

The Night Bookmobile said...

I really do love that koi fish.

thenightbookmobile at yahoo dot com

Jen R. said...

Glass making? Huh, interesting. Definitely can't wait to read ATU now!!!

Anonymous said...

Glass-blowing is definitely interesting. I wonder how it ties to the novel. :P Can't wait to read it!

Priya said...

I want this book!!!
email-priya.1dt@gmail.com

Cass said...

Wow, the horse (? the audio wasn't that good) looked so pretty! I cannot wait to see how this, glass making, related to Shades of Earth!!

Jennifer said...

Glass blowing is something I've always wished I could do. It looks amazing!

Mandy said...

Congrats to Beth on the launch of her knew book!!! I was lucky enough to be able to read A Million Suns already!! I love this series and I am so looking forward to Shades of Earth!!

Mandy said...

Oh, oh, oh my email is manders_20_00@hotmail.com!!!

Unknown said...

What an amazing turn out to the blog! I hope you all enjoyed the blog tour! I am SO EXCITED for Beth and the book birthday of A Million Suns! Megan and I are such HUGE fans of this series. We are quite honored to have a blog dedicated to the series and to Beth for being such a talented author!

Did anyone notice that we changed our banner? We added aspects of the "Harley" painting in our banner!

Good luck everyone and remember...

Books will take you ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and you will pass A MILLION SUNS. What SHADES OF EARTH will you encounter next?

THANK YOU MEGAN for all that you do!!!!

Angela said...

This is such a great giveaway!!!
Would love to win!

angela1997 at live dot nl

Krysta said...

The koi fish painting is beautiful. I loved reading this post, and now I want to read A Million Suns even more.

Thanks for the giveaway!

crystal_reaper(at)hotmail(dot)com

anme said...

This is a wonderful event, I am so excited for Beth Revis!

melorabrock {at} gmail {dot} com

Sarah said...

Glass making is very interesting. It's one of the things I've always wanted to learn to do, but haven't ever had the opportunity to get into. I'm extremely curious about how that works its way into Shades of Earth. I can't wait for Friday to get here so I can get my pay check and go pick up A Million Suns!

Giada M. said...

Thank you for posting and for the giveaway! :D

fabgiada (at) gmail (dot) com

Bleuette said...

Thanks so much! :)

tirachii(at)yahoo(dot)com