New 'Three Day Summer' Reviews and a Giveaway!

I'll make this short and sweet but I'm super thrilled to announce that some lovely reviews have recently come in for Three Day Summer (now only about a month away from release!)

From School Library Journal:

"Extremely charming...This sure-to-be-popular, mesmerizing novel...[is] a real page-turner for fans of romance, music, and the swinging '60s."

From author Tamara Ireland Stone (Time After Time and Every Last Word):

"Three Day Summer will transport you back in time to Woodstock, drown you in incredible music, and introduce you to a couple you'll never forget. It's the perfect summer getaway."

From Publishers Weekly:

In short chapters full of vivid historical detail, Tash takes readers through each of the major acts at Woodstock (the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, among others), plus all of the drugs, mud, and shed inhibitions. As Cora and Michael meander (and sometimes stumble) through the chaos, they evoke the spirit of the festival in their awe for the music, adding their own dash of romance to the free love around them... the author’s love for the era and this defining musical moment shines through.

From Pure Imagination Blog:

The music, artists, and the feelings it inspires are talked about so much that it feels like you are there with Cora and Michael. That was an incredible feeling. Three Day Summer is a short, well paced read. It’s perfect for summer and music lovers. This is such a fun debut.

In other serendipitous news, I recently came across a couple of extra Three Day Summer ARCs. So I will be giving signed copies away to two winners right on this blog! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. The contest is open internationally!

Everyone gets one free entry. You can also gain extra entries by leaving a comment on this post about your favorite thing about summer, tweeting about the contest (once per day), following me on Twitter, liking my Facebook fan page, or adding the book on Goodreads.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

'Three Day Summer' Gets a Kirkus Starred Review!

I'm so ecstatic to share this early starred review for Three Day Summer--from the one and only Kirkus Reviews no less!

They write:

Two teens find the 1969 Woodstock music festival a life-changing event.

Michael, 18, knows what he doesn't want—to go to college or be drafted to fight in Vietnam—it's what he wants that confuses him, and would-be doctor Cora, 17, ponders transgressing cultural expectations for girls. Overcoming their inauspicious meeting in the medical tent, the two are drawn together—along with plenty of baggage. Michael drags his feet on breaking up with his hypercritical girlfriend. Cora longs to get over paternalistic Ned, who's broken up with her. Michael's passionate about music but feels like a slacker. Country girl Cora, unlike her brothers, has a nightly curfew and feels torn between her conservative father—proud veteran of two wars—and her anti-war siblings, one fighting in Vietnam. Not all that goes down is benign, but this is no cautionary fable. Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll unapologetically prevail amid the muddy chaos, where strangers feed one another, concertgoers stand in line for hours to use the payphone, and iconic musicians play generational anthems. Against a turbulent backdrop of war, divisive social change, and awful weather, half a million people celebrated peace, love, and music together. Woodstock remains a resonant cultural marker, documenting the brief triumph of hope over experience, and Tash takes ample advantage of the moment. 

A positive portrait of a much-maligned era, this optimistic, exuberant tale is recommended for readers who've wondered why the '60s were so great. 

Isn't that just kick-you-in-your-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic?!

I'm really floored that the book received a starred review, but I'm most excited that how I felt about the story really seems to have come across to a reader. So much of writing is time spent in your head, and I think you can never truly objectively tell if you conveyed exactly what you meant to.

And while we're keeping this post all braggy, I wanted to share one more amazing blurb that Three Day Summer got from bestselling author Miranda Kenneally (Catching Jordan, Jesse's Girl)! Miranda has legions of fans (including me) for her amazingly realistic, complex, and oh-so-swoonworthy YA romances, so you can imagine how much these words meant coming from her:

Three Day Summer is not just a book—it’s an experience! It made me feel like I was at Woodstock surrounded by free love, music, and mud. I loved it—I couldn’t stop reading!

I'm going to sign off before my ego gets too inflated here. But Three Day Summer will be released in just a little over two months (May 19th), so I hope these reviews might have helped whet your appetite a bit! (And also for those of us in arctic regions, given you some hope that summer will actually come again...)

'Three Day Summer' ARCs Are Here...So Here's a Giveaway!

It's been a very cold, snowy week here in New York, so I think few things could have been as welcome as the box of beautiful, cheery Three Day Summer ARCs I received.

Take a look!

Aren't they so purty? It's always so amazing to see one of my manuscripts set and bound like a real book. (I admit...the best part is having it smell like a real book. In fact, my husband may have caught me sitting at my desk, sniffing my ARCs...)

The intro on the back cover reads:

Fans of Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell will fall in love with Michael and Cora--two teens who are about to meet at the greatest concert ever.

Since I absolutely adore both of those books, I am beyond thrilled with the comparison.

Anyway, what's an author to do with a box of ARCs except share the love? I'm giving away two signed advanced copies on Goodreads! Just check out the below widget to enter!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Three Day Summer

by Sarvenaz Tash

Giveaway ends February 06, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Read the First Chapter of 'Three Day Summer'

Last night I got an awesome surprise in the mail...the first pass pages of Three Day Summer! The first pass pages represent the final layout of the book. This is where I actually get to see my manuscript look like a real book for the first time, complete with all the design work that goes into things like chapter headings and page numbers.

In a nutshell, I love it! I think the layout looks super '60s and groovy and really works well with the cover. And to celebrate...I want to share the first chapter of Three Day Summer with you, exactly how it's going to look in the book!

But first...let's ooh and aah over some of these amazing design elements, shall we? (You can click on each photo to see a larger version...)

First, the title page, which is basically a black and white recreation of the cover:

Then there are the awesome chapter headings. Three Day Summer is told from the dual perspective of my two main characters, so each chapter starts with one or the other of their names. I really like how bold they made that.

And, finally, I really like the tiny graphics that are at the top of each page right by the title and my name.

So, without further ado, may I present the first chapter of Three Day Summer:

New Book News, Part Deux!

Sooooo....this announcement just went up on Publishers Marketplace today!

Sarvenaz's Tash's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO UNREQUITED LOVE, a Comic Con rom-com about a lovelorn nerd who decides to profess his love for his best friend at the biggest event of their social calendar, pitched as PRETTY IN PINK goes to Comic Con to Zareen Jaffery at Simon & Schuster Children's, by Victoria Marini at Gelfman Schneider/ICM.

So, YES, I sold another book! I honestly did not think I'd be writing another blog post that said that this year but...well, it's been a really amazing 2014. I feel really grateful and excited for it.

Here are a few more things to know about The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love.

First, a little synopsis:

When ultra-reclusive comic book creator Robert Zinc makes a surprise announcement that he will be at this year's New York Comic Con, 16-year-old Graham Posner makes an equally profound decision: he will finally profess his true feelings for longtime best friend Roxana Afsari. And he will do it at the biggest event of their social calendar, right after they've finally met their hero. Only, of course, nothing goes exactly to plan...

Second, my impetus for the book came from combining my extreme nerdiness with my love of John Hughes movies. So you should know that a) oh boy, is it nerdy and b) it has been so ridiculously, awesomely fun to write.

And, finally, this is actually the first book I sold on proposal. Meaning I had only written a partial manuscript and a synopsis when my editor scooped it up. What does this mean? Well, it means I now have a hard deadline for the completed first draft (which I've never had before since my previous books have all sold as full manuscripts). And that the next few months will be challenging...but in the best way. I can't express how excited I am to write this story and know as I'm writing it that it will get in the hands of readers. That's something that has never happened to me before either!

Oh, and the book is slated for Summer 2016, which means it will be out exactly one year after Three Day Summer!

And, in conclusion, here's a photo of me nerding out with my friend Billy at this year's Comic Con. Because why not?

TV I Love: 'North & South' and 'The Forsyte Saga'

For some reason, my Netflix "Suggestions For You" list is consistently chock-full of period British miniseries. Apparently its recommendation algorithm is so good, that it can simply divine that I would enjoy them. Skynet, man.

How does it know?!?!

Anyway, this magical technology led me to two new (to me) and wonderful discoveries in the world of melodrama in hoop skirts and posh accents. North & South and The Forsyte Saga.

I admit, North & South had been on my radar for some time and everything I had heard about it led me to suspect that it would be up my alley. Don't ask me why it took me so long to finally sit down and watch it. But about 40 minutes into the first episode, probably around the time when new girl in town Margaret Hale is giving a piece of her mind to factory owner John Thornton, I was hooked. Hooked as in even though I started the show on a Sunday night at 9 PM and there were four one-hour episodes to get through, I watched them all. That night. Whoops.

Was I bleary-eyed the next day at work? Yup. Was the swoony, dramatic final episode soooo worth it? You can bet your bonnet.

The show was beautifully shot and acted, had Downton's Mr. Bates acting very Mr. Bates-like,  and even gave me a new Brit to get moony-eyed over (hello, Richard Armitage). It's based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell--who I have to admit I've never read. I might need to remedy that situation!

Trust me on this one...

The Forsyte Saga is a 10-part series made around the same time as North & South (early 2000s). It follows three generations of a wealthy family over the course of 50 years (1870 through 1920). And, believe me, this family sees its share of scandal, tragedy, and dramatic levels of stalking.

Its production value is a bit lower than North & South and I think some of the storylines can veer a tiny bit too far into soap territory. That being said, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. And, ultimately, I really got into the character arc of Soames Forsyte (played by Damian Lewis) who, besides having a last name as a first name, spends a lot of the show desperately looking like he really needs a mustache to twirl and yet somehow manages to redeem himself in the end.

Somebody give this man some facial hair to grab onto.

The Forsyte Saga is based on a series of books by John Galsworthy--who won a Nobel Prize in Literature for it. (I've also now added them to my to-be-read list.)

So if your "recently watched" list looks anything like mine and you haven't checked these two out yet, I highly recommend them. And if you and/or Netflix have some other hatted and corseted Brits to recommend to me, I am all (delicate) ears.

Read the First Excerpt from 'Three Day Summer!'

This week, my editor shared with me the small excerpt that will be going on the back cover of Three Day Summer... and I thought I would share it with all of you!

This is the first bit of this book that I've posted but since we are almost exactly six months out from publication, and since it's Friday, and since it's cold and I've been daydreaming about summer, here it is!

It begins to rain again, gently at first and then a bit harder. All around us, the water plops as it’s hit with itself, the line between lake and sky becoming hazy. It’s like being in a bath and a shower at the same time. Cora laughs, holding her hand out to catch some raindrops and then letting them fall through her fingers into the water. Plop. 

A piece of her hair has come undone from its braid and it trails behind her in the lake, like a silky eel.

I reach over and lift it, watching the wet, dark strands make patterns on my palm. 

“It’s so beautiful,” I say. Then I look right at her and drink her in: her deep, brown eyes and small nose; her wide lips; the slope of her shoulders which only draws my eye downward to take in the rest of her curves which she has, unfortunately, kept shrouded beneath the water. The red Hog Farm fabric is still around her wrist, sodden and trailing in the water like a red flag, a claim.

“You are so beautiful,” I say, a little choked up at how true it is. Especially here, surrounded by water and music. I think that this has to be the most romantic moment of my life.