Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway: Trust Me, I'm Trouble by Mary Elizabeth Summer

 

Welcome to my stop in TRUST ME, I'M TROUBLE by Mary Elizabeth Summer Blog Tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. Today on my stop we have a Guest Post + an awesome Giveaway!! 

TRUST ME, I'M TROUBLE

(Trust Me #2)
by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: October 13th 2015
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction


The sequel to TRUST ME, I’M LYING

Staying out of trouble isn’t possible for Julep Dupree. She has managed not to get kicked out of her private school, even though everyone knows she’s responsible for taking down a human-trafficking mob boss—and getting St. Agatha’s golden-boy Tyler killed in the process. Running cons holds her guilty conscience at bay, but unfortunately, someone wants Julep to pay for her mistakes . . . with her life.

Against her better judgment, Julep takes a shady case that requires her to infiltrate a secretive organization that her long-gone mother and the enigmatic blue fairy may be connected to. Her best friend, Sam, isn’t around to stop her, and Dani, her one true confidante, happens to be a nineteen-year-old mob enforcer whose moral compass is as questionable as Julep’s. But there’s not much time to worry about right and wrong—or to save your falling heart—when there’s a contract on your head.

Murders, heists, secrets and lies, hit men and hidden identities . . . If Julep doesn’t watch her back, it’s her funeral. No lie.

Julep is grifter and criminal mastermind. I, sadly, am not. Thus I've had to do a lot (read: a LOT) of research. When I started down this road of con artists, hackers, and mobsters, I knew just about ZILCH regarding the criminal underworld.

Confession time: I really thought I was going to be a sci-fi or fantasy author, so most of my educational and recreational background is in that—not mystery. I literally owned the Technical Manual for the Starship Enterprise. For years. What I didn't own…? Any of the Godfather movies. I hadn't even seen The Godfather until my senior year of college. Needless to say, I was vastly unprepared to write these books.

Enter the Internet.

At this point, it should come as a shock to no one that Google was my go-to for writing this book. In fact, I'll go out on a limb here and say that this book could not have been written if it weren't for Google. Here's how the Interwebs helped me learn to crime…

Books

That's right, Google sent me to good old-fashioned books. You would be AMAZED what people are willing to put down in writing and attach their names to. I was amazed. Frankly, I wondered why they hadn't been tracked down and arrested. Here are the three books I relied on most heavily:

 

Title: Secrets of a Back-Alley ID Man

Author: Sheldon Charrett

Synopsis: Find out how crafty counterfeiters stay one step ahead of the bureaucrats and security professionals and readily replicate driver's licenses, birth certificates and other supposedly "secure" identity documents. In Secrets of a Back-Alley ID Man, Sheldon Charrett (The Modern Identity Changer and Identity, Privacy, and Personal Freedom) will show you the most effective "new school" and "old-school" techniques for new IDs, as well as poor man's tricks for those on a tight budget...

 

Title: 100 Ways to Win a Ten-Spot

Author: Paul Zenon

Synopsis: As opposed to offering up typical magic tricks, this hilarious collection of scams, swindles, bets, and stunts features everyday objects and requires no special skills—just nerve. Some of the scams presented include how to drink from a champagne bottle without opening it, guess the date on a coin as it spins on the table, and pull a 10-dollar bill out from under a beer bottle without touching or knocking over the bottle. This amusing guide claims that a cheater, armed with the right skills, always wins...

 

Title: The Art of the Steal

Author: Frank W. Abagnale

Synopsis: Drawn from his twenty-five years of experience as an ingenious con artist (whose check scams alone mounted to more than $2 million in stolen funds), Abagnale's The Art of the Steal provides eye-opening stories of true scams, with tips on how they can be prevented. Abagnale takes you deep inside the world and mind of the con artist, showing you just how he pulled off his scams and what you can do to avoid becoming the next victim...

Blog Posts and YouTube

Just as in books, you'd be amazed what people are willing to blog about on the Internet. Wikipedia alone is a hotbed of illicit information, if you follow the bread crumbs far enough.

Here are a mere three examples, the tip of the iceberg of criminology accessible with nothing but a few keystrokes:

 

Title: The Ten Basic Cons

Author: Evan Andrews

Excerpt: Unlike most kinds of petty crime, a confidence game, or con, takes an enormous amount of skill and forethought to pull off. When done right, in many cases the grifters who perpetrate them have not actually done anything overtly illegal–they’ve simply used lies and manipulation to get their victim, or "mark," to willingly hand over their own money. Whether blackmail, fraud, or illegal gambling, the following are ten of the most famous ways that these swindlers try to take advantage of the confidence of their unsuspecting victims. Obviously, there are a number of takes on any kind of con, but these are the most popular variations of the most well known tricks. Read more…

  

Title: Underwater Bullets at 27,000fps

Author: The Slow Mo Guys

Description: Gav and Dan slow down time by over one thousand times to show you how bullets look when fired from an underwater gun. See it in action…

 

Title: The FBI

Author: The FBI

Description: There's a wealth of information on government sites about criminal practices and the steps law enforcement takes to bring those criminals to justice. I found most of my information about human trafficking and organized crime directly from the FBI. Check it out…

Actual, You Know, People

Beyond the Internet, there is a world full of two-legged brains all around us. And you'd, again, be shocked by the depth and breadth of knowledge those brains contain, illicit knowledge that you would never, ever in a million years expect. Like my uncle, who, inexplicably, knows how to blow up a boat using a kitchen timer. (That little tidbit came in handy, let me tell you.)

The trick to getting intel on how to game the system (any system) is in asking the people on the front lines of that system—the bank tellers, the cashiers, the busboys, the janitors. Those are the people who can give you the information on how to get free food, get into places you shouldn't be, and get away with it all scot free.

For example, long before my wife went to law school, she was a barista (and then a shift supervisor) at Starbucks for five years. (She's got the fancy pen to prove it.) So when I wanted a scene where Julep scams a free drink off a barista, I asked my wife how she would do it. She rattled off the steps she would take to finagle a free drink, and I quickly wrote them down. Then a few days later, I actually tried it. And guess what. It worked! So if you have the guts to try it, you can find out how to do it in Trust Me, I’m Lying.

The #1 Secret to Pulling Off the Perfect Con

After all my research, I did manage to find the number-one trick for pulling off the perfect con, and because I love you all so much, I'm going to tell you what it is.

It all boils down to the word "con." For those of you who don't know, the slang term "con man" is the short form of the term "confidence man." The number-one thing you must have to pull off the perfect con is confidence.

We are genetically programmed to band together to form societies. And the basic foundation of any society is mutual trust. No one can really know if you're a veterinarian who specializes in the treatment of the pink fairy armadillo. We don't have time to exhaustively research everyone we meet every day. So if you can produce a business card, rattle off a fact or two, and in general appear confident during the conversation, your mark is going to believe you 99% of the time. It's how society continues to function. And it's part of our psychological profile as a species to respond to inherent confidence.

Of course, now that I've told you, don't tell anyone else. A good grifter never reveals her secrets.

~~~

What are your go-to references for researching the criminal underworld? Have you ever used the knowledge you gleaned to commit a crime? Tell us in the comments!

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Mary Elizabeth Summer is an instructional designer, a mom, a champion of the serial comma, and a pie junkie. Oh, and she sometimes writes books about teenage delinquents saving the day. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her daughter, her partner, and her evil overlor–er, cat. TRUST ME, I'M LYING, a YA mystery, will be released by Delacorte in Fall 2014.

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Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway: Blood And Salt by Kim Liggett

Welcome to my stop in BLOOD AND SALT by Kim Liggett Blog Tour hosted by Penguin Teen. Today on my stop we have a Book Trailer, Excerpt, and a Exclusive Interview with author Kim Liggett + an awesome Giveaway!!

Blood And Salt

BLOOD AND SALT
Kim Liggett
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Horror
Published: September 22nd, 2015

 

Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.

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ALICIA: Hi Kim, I'm honored to have you here today on Addicted Readers! :)

ALICIA: 1.) Can you tell us where the inspiration came for BLOOD AND SALT, and do you think it turned out to be what you planned on, or did it change from what you initially mapped out for it?

KIM: I started writing Blood and Salt as a love letter to my daughter. She had her first crushing love and I wanted to show her how smart, brave, complicated and amazing I thought she was.. Originally, I wanted to show her in the power position, but as I was writing it, I realized that’s the wrong message. What I really wanted to show her was that you can fall blindly in love, have your heart broken into a million pieces, and you can then rise from the ashes. Maybe you’ll do it all over again, maybe you’ll be more cautious next time, but you’ll never be the same. And that can be a good thing. There’s life after heartache.

ALICIA: 2.) What was the most challenging, and the most enjoyable aspect of writing BLOOD AND SALT, and why?

KIM: The most challenging aspect was weaving these incredibly complicated histories together, putting the puzzle pieces together in a way that felt seamless and natural.

The most enjoyable part was delving into these characters. I got incredibly depressed whenever I had to hand in a draft to my editor. It felt like I was sending them off to bootcamp. I wondered if they’d be the same when they came back—if they’d remember me.

ALICIA: 3.) Can you tell us five random things about you?

KIM: - I’m godawful at sports—when I see a ball headed my way, I run in the opposite direction.

- My favorite color is orange—when I was a kid, I felt sorry for it because no one ever picked it. I guess it kind of grew on me.

- I’ve broken my nose four times. Wall. Door. Golf club. Car hood.

- I don’t always want to know how things work. Like airplanes. I prefer to think of it as magic.

- I will stop at any roadside attraction. Largest ball of twine. Blue Ribbon Apple Pie. Boiled Peanuts. Mutant pumpkin. Doesn’t take much! I’m either the most annoying person in the car or the most fun!!!! 

ALICIA: 4.) Who was your most favorite character in BLOOD AND SALT, and why? 
 
KIM: I adore them all, but I loved writing Katia. She’s so tortured. I really want to write a prequel, detailing her history and how she came to be immortal.

ALICIA: 5.) The description; Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn definitely sounds intriguing. So I was curious why you decided to combine a thrilling horror and a forbidden romance in this one-of-a-kind epic book?

KIM: I’m dyselxic. As a kid, I had a tough time reading, so they let me read whatever I wanted. It had to be something really compelling to get me to finish a book. I was drawn to creepy horror books and scintilating romance novels. And there you have it—a style was born!

ALICIA: 6.) Do you have a deleted scene from BLOOD AND SALT that you could share with us? If not maybe you could share your favorite short teaser from BLOOD AND SALT?
 
KIM: In the original manuscript, the memories were all written in verse.

Here’s what that looked like:


Thatches of prairie grass loom
around me.
The breeze swoops
down
from towering limestone
cliffs,
turning endless fields
into roiling seas.
He makes his way toward me,
in weathered armor.
Our love is more
than a secret–
it’s forbidden.
He ties a long,
black
silk
ribbon
around my throat.
I close my eyes,
and memorize
every detail of his scent–
sandalwood, cedar
and dark fertile earth.
I free myself
from my beaded deerskin dress,
letting it fall
in a pool beneath my feet.
The ends
of the ribbon drape
lovingly
down the length of my back,
conforming
to my every curve.
He takes me 

in.
My skin warms
to sunlit honey.
We embrace
under a golden sky;
all consuming,
limbs entwined,
the black silk ribbon
dancing 

all around us.

ALICIA: Kim, it was such a blast having you stop by and chat with us today, I look forward to seeing what you come up with next! :)

THE SICKENING CRACKLE of the corn-husk rope pulls me from sleep, down the hall, up the stairs, and out into the night. The sky is the strangest color, a dusky gray rose. Dark blond hair skims the ground as it disappears into a patch of tall prairie grass.

Tearing through the coarse grass, I try to reach her. As I break into a small clearing, I catch a glimpse of her face—eyes wide and lifeless, she stares back at me as her body’s being dragged into the corn.

Sensing a presence, I turn to see a winged figure made of smoke move toward me, but I’m not afraid. The scent of freshly rained-upon soil, salt, hay, cloves, sandalwood, and saddle leather perme­ates the air. It’s the most beautiful smell in the world. I close my eyes to breathe it in, hoping it will imprint on my memory. And when I open them, the smoke has sharpened into the face of Dane.

I reach out to touch him, but he flinches away. I can’t help but laugh. Even my illusion of Dane won’t cooperate.

My skin is pulsing with light. Faint at first, the golden light soon grows into a soft halo that wraps around me, illuminating the protection marks.

I stand perfectly still, coaxing the golden light forward to reach him. As soon as it meets his skin, I can feel him, just as if I were touching him with my own fingers. Every bit of our connection is alive and electric as it flows through me and into him, back from him to me, and around us.

I feel his spirit, damaged and beautiful. Perfect in its flaws. Suddenly, I become worried that he can see all of me, too; something in me wants to cover up, to hide my imperfections. I feel vulnerable, like a gaping wound with salt water lapping at the edges.

“Do you see the light?”

“There’s no light,” he answers.

It makes me so sad he can’t see or feel what I feel. “Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.”

Dane’s shadowy figure takes an unexpected step toward me. Even though he’s only a hallucination, I swear I can feel his gentle breath on my face. He leans forward, pressing his lips against mine. I can taste him, along with the salt of my tears that stream into our mouths. Sadness and ecstasy consume me.

I open my eyes to find Dane has vanished, along with every bit of light that beamed from my skin. I hear the crops rustle behind me. I turn and step toward the corn. As I peer through the stalks, a feeling of dread presses down on me, crushing me, holding me in place.

The dead girl’s hand emerges from the corn, clasping my ankle. “I thought you loved me,” she whispers.

“Ashlyn.”

I awoke sometime before dawn, sprawled on top of my cov­ers, a thick sheen of sweat covering my body. I stirred; my muscles ached. My feet gritted against the sheets. Looking down, I found them caked in dirt.

I leapt out of bed.

“What’s going on?” Rhys mumbled.

“Nothing. Just need to get ready.” I escaped into the bath­room and rested my forehead against the closed door.

“This is real,” I told myself as I pressed my fingers into the cool wood grain. I stole a glance at myself in the mirror and did a double take.

Threaded into my tangled hair were coarse strands of prairie grass. In a panic, I checked the rest of my body. “Holy shit.” I exhaled when I discovered a bloody handprint coiled around my left ankle.

I’d gone outside without a clue of how I got there or how I got back. I’d lost time again. Maybe hours. Was Coronado’s black magic trying to lure me into the corn? But it felt deeper than that.

“Are you okay in there?” Rhys knocked on the door, star­tling me.

“Find another bathroom,” I snapped as I pumped water into the washtub. I stepped into the cool water and scrubbed my legs with a washcloth until they were raw, then pulled the plug, watching the dirty water swirl around my ankles and disappear down the drain.

The dead girl spoke to me. She touched me. She wanted me to find her in the corn. And Dane could take me there.

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At sixteen, Kim Liggett left her rural midwestern town for New York City to pursue a career in both music and acting. While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kim sang backup for some of the biggest rock bands in the 80’s.

After settling down to have a family, she became an entrepreneur, creating a children’s art education program and a travel company specializing in tours for musicians.

She’s married to jazz musician Ken Peplowski, has two grotesquely beautiful teens, and a very neurotic dog that drags her through Riverside Park everyday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

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