And now (this is where the eye candy comes in), behold:

It is a thing of beauty

This will be added to my Russian Books shelf as soon as I can get my grubby little mitts on it. I loved the book in English and can’t wait to experience it in Russian. Plus, the cover is so pretty I will even forgive the brunette head on it (which, while beautiful, does not match the pale blonde main character at all).

What’s that? Not everybody reads Russian and I should probably explain what this is? Okay. Wings by Aprilynne Pike (um, does she have a great name or what?). Go check it out; it is a seriously good read.

The rest of this might be slightly eye-glaze inducing for you if you are not a writer, but it is way too fun for me not to share. The talented Jackson Pearce (have I mentioned yet how much I love her book) corralled 28 YA authors to give their best advice for this great video. It is a must watch for any aspiring author. Also, it is probably a lot funnier if you remember the original.

Jackson’s Description and Participants:

28 YA Authors give you advice on writing, publishing, and everything in-between. And they do it TO SONG.
(This is yet another reason why YA authors are the coolest subspecies of author.)

Authors, in order of appearance:
Jackson Pearce (AS YOU WISH, SISTERS RED)
Kristina Springer (THE ESPRESSOLOGIST)
Aimee Friedman (SEA CHANGE)
John Claude Bemis (THE NINE POUND HAMMER)
Cyn Balog (FAIRY TALE, SLEEPLESS)
Barry Lyga (GOTH GIRL RISING)
Ally Carter (GALLAGHER GIRLS series, HEIST SOCIETY)
Aprilynne Pike (WINGS, SPELLS)
Shani Petroff (BEDEVILED)
Carrie Ryan (THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH)
Neesha Meminger (SHINE COCONUT MOON)
Jaclyn Dolamore (MAGIC UNDER GLASS)
Brenna Yovanoff (THE REPLACEMENT)
Margaret Stohl (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES)
Erin Dionne (THE TOTAL TRAGEDY OF A GIRL NAMED HAMLET)
Maggie Stiefvater (SHIVER)
Jennifer Jabaley (LIPSTICK APOLOGY)
Michelle Zink (PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS)
Jessica Burkhart (CANTERWOOD CREST series)
R.J. Anderson (KNIFE, REBEL)
Kami Garcia (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES)
Jenny Moss (WINNIE’S WAR, SHADOW)
Tessa Gratton (BLOOD MAGIC)
Lauren Bjorkman (MY INVENTED LIFE)
Becca Fitzpatrick (HUSH HUSH)
L.K. Madigan (FLASH BURNOUT)
Sarah Prineas (THE MAGIC THIEF series)
Saundra Mitchell (SHADOWED SUMMER)
Javier Ruescas (CUENTOS DE BERETH)

Original song performed by Baz Luhrman, written by Timothy John Cox and Nigel Andrew Swanston. Parodied by me with the help of a microphone and a karaoke track!

***

I should go back to my last post and add heed the advice in this video to my list of goals. This is some seriously good stuff here!