Monday, October 17, 2016

Exclusive Cover Reveal for This is How it Happened by Paula Stokes + ARC Giveaway

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I know its a Monday and everyone is like UGH, weekend come back again, but today we are hosting an exclusive cover reveal for THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED by Paula Stokes so I am actually excited about it being a Monday (*gasp*)

 

Not only is Stokes a wonderful human, she is also a wonderful writer and having read four of her books, I can say this with confidence. Girl Against the Universe is one of my favorite books of 2016 and Vicarious is an equally amazing action filled novel that came out this year so there are books by her out in the world that you could already be checking out and fangirling over.

 

Anywayy (I am quite the talker, aren’t I?) I am REALLY REALLY excited for THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED and you guys should be too beacuse the cover is gorgeous and it sounds even better. Over to Paula!

 

Paula: Hiiiii 😀 I am so excited to be here on Xpresso Reads, sharing the cover of my 2017 HarperTeen contemporary novel with you. THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED will release next July, and once again it’s quite different from all of my other novels. I’m thrilled that Rashika is revealing the cover for me, because I was lucky enough to meet her at the Anderson’s YA Lit Conference and it’s always nice to put a face and a smile with an awesome bookish person 😀

 

I’ve been pretty quiet about this book because I drafted it in just a few weeks after I crashed and burned on JACK OF HEARTS (Sorry Copenhagen lovers) and it wasn’t until recently that I was sure it was going to be finished in time for a 2017 release. But thankfully the ARC faeries are hard at work making the ARCs while I make the inevitable ARC fixes, and the book is basically all ready to go.

 

5 Fun Facts about THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED:

1. This story takes place part in St. Louis, where I grew up, and part in Springdale, Utah, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. (And if you know me, you know I’ve been lucky enough to visit a lot of beautiful places!)

springdale

2. This book starts with a blog post and goes on to include a lot of tweets and comments. Some of the blogger and commenter names are secret homages to personal friends and fictional characters I love. Look closely and you’ll find little references to stuff like The Crow and the TV show UnReal.

3. Main character Genevieve has divorced parents, one of whom has remarried. I know that isn’t exactly a “fun fact” but it’s meaningful to me because my own parents underwent a pretty harsh divorce when I was eighteen and this book gave me the opportunity to tap into and explore some of the pain and conflict from that time.

4. Genevieve is a runner who also becomes a bit of a hiker when she finds herself in gorgeous Zion National Park. The hike Genevieve and Elliott go on together is called Angel’s Landing and it’s a real hike that I’ve done several times. It’s also a hike where several people have died.

5. One of the first people Genevieve meets when she arrives in Springdale is Elliott, a nineteen-year-old park guide with two amazing dads, one of which is a competitor on American Ninja Warrior. Do you guys know how much I love American Ninja Warrior? Do you?? I will spare you a long speech about how good that show is and how it’s the epitome of triumph over adversity and focus over distraction and good sportsmanship and camaraderie and, well, I guess I won’t spare you the speech after all. But there’s a little bit of ANW in this book and I did so much Warped Wall research that I’m almost ready to give it a try myself 😉

Now the moment we have all been waiting for.



ARE YOU READY?

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ARE YOUR PETS READY?

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HERE IT IS IN ALL ITS GLORY

 

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Paula: The design team at Harper worked with my editor and me to get this just right for the story. The background is Genevieve in Utah (those are clouds, not a giant approaching forest fire, I promise) and the overlay of comments actually comes from inside the book and represents comments on her boyfriend Dallas’s YouTube page. I really like the pensive look on the girl’s face and the slightly gloomy overall appearance of this cover. This story is less fluffy than my previous contemps, but I like to think it will also leave readers with a sense of hope. (That’s kind of my thing, you know?)



Me: What do you guys think of the cover? I love the pensive look on the girl’s face and it makes me want to know what is going on inside of her brain. Also the colors just really work for me. I love the light green and the white.

 

Synopsis:

 

“Somehow I’ve become a liar. A coward. Here’s how it happened.”

When Genevieve Grace wakes up from a coma, she can’t remember the car crash that injured her and killed her boyfriend Dallas, a YouTube star who had just released his first album. Genevieve knows she was there, and that there was another driver, a man named Brad Freeman, who everyone assumes is guilty. But as she slowly pieces together the night of the accident, Genevieve is hit with a sickening sense of dread—that maybe she had something to do with what happened.

As the internet rages against Brad Freeman, condemning him in a brutal trial by social media, Genevieve escapes to her father’s house, where she can hide from reporters and spend the summer volunteering in beautiful Zion National Park. But she quickly realizes that she can’t run away from the accident, or the terrible aftermath of it all.

Incredibly thought-provoking and beautifully told, Paula Stokes’s story will compel readers to examine the consequences of making mistakes in a world where the internet is always watching…and judging.

About the Author


Paula Stokes writes stories about flawed characters with good hearts. She’s the author of several novels, most recently Vicarious and Girl Against the Universe. Her writing has been translated into eleven foreign languages. Paula loves kayaking, hiking, reading, and seeking out new adventures in faraway lands She also loves interacting with readers.

 

 

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Giveaway Time!

Paula has generously offered an ARC of THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED to one of our lovely readers.

Giveaway Rules

  • Open internationally
  • Xpresso Reads + Paula Stokes will not be responsible for any lost/damaged books
  • You must be 13+ or have parental permission to join
  • Once a winner is announced, an email will be sent. If we don’t receive a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be picked
  • No cheating allowed

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Rashika

Rashika has been tired since 2013. There are very few things that spark joy for her besides a nice cup of tea, warm, baked goods, good books and good TV shows. She is here to pile onto your giant TBRs and to-watch lists. Offer her a cookie and she might be nice to you.

32 Responses to “Exclusive Cover Reveal for This is How it Happened by Paula Stokes + ARC Giveaway”

  3. Kim

    Oh, I love the cover of this one! It looks like it’s going pretty well with the story. I’m realy excited to see how Paula integrated the social media (blog post, comments and tweets) in the story. Can’t wait for this one!!

  5. Mithila

    I’m so excited for this book! Paula Stokes always has such amazing covers and this one definitely is no exception. I haven’t read many books that involve hiking so that’ll be really cool to see more of!

  9. Sarah

    So excited for this book and that cover is gorgeous. Honestly, Paula is an auto-buy author for me. I can’t not read her books, they’re so good.

  10. Eri

    I was so impressed by Vicarious that Paula has become an auto-buy author and I have heard great things about GATU so I can’t wait for this book, I’m sure I’ll adore it! Thanks for the giveaway <3

  13. danielle hammelef

    The cover is beautiful and the book sounds so good! I can’t wait to read it! It’s so far away….

  18. Jasprit

    Rashika, this book sounds so freaking amazing, I love all the facts that Paula shared with us and how this book came about. And the cover is pretty epic too, I love how it relates so much to the book, (these are always my favourites!). This is one book I will definitely be looking forward to reading next year!

  19. F.

    The cover is beautiful! I am not from America and I always daydream about road trips when I see pictures of the landscapes in America. That is exactly what I feel by the cover. But it sounds that Genevieve Grace can only afford a short daydream.

  20. Alyssa L.

    I like how they merge two different picture on the cover–the girl and the comment section. It’s beautifully done and it will catch your attention.

  22. Kristy Petree

    It’s a really unique and intriguing cover, for sure. Very excited for the story as well. NOTE: I retweeted and pasted my link, BUT I think retweet links are the same as your original link (but I can provide a screen shot if need be, because I definitely RT’d it 🙂 . Thanks!

  25. Ingeyla Karim

    The cover looks really good. Like a minimalist cover but not really. And yes I’m looking forward to reading it very much!

  27. Yun-A

    Am in love. ♡♡ I think it’s amazing how diverse this author’s scope is. Can’t wait to read it!

  31. Catherine

    I love the cover design and its use of social media elements. Adding this to my most-anticipated 2017 reads list.

  32. Ruby Jo

    I am insanely excited for this book! The cover is amazing, and if the comments on the cover are in the book, that would be insanely brilliant and a fantastic teaser. I can’t wait to read the book.