I HEART YA 2014: Top Ten Favorite Destinations by Author Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface)

Woo Hoo!!!! This is a super fun top ten list for me because when I got married at the age of 23, my husband was in the military and we spent four years stationed in Germany and it became a hub for travel for us. 

Most of the time we could just hop in the car, jump on a train or sign up for a bus tour and travel all through Europe. It was amazing. But I’m going to start you off in the USA before we head overseas…

#10 Virginia Beach: VA Beach had to make the list because I just got back from a week there and it’s a wonderful beach with lots of waves to boogie board and body surf. Yet it was still kind of zen at the same time. And if you need to mix it up--nearby there is Busch Gardens, Williamsburg and Jamestown plus a lot of other fun things like the aquarium, dolphin tours and a really fun ropes course with zip lines. 

#9  Arizona: After my husband was stationed overseas, we moved back to the states and lived in Arizona. I stayed a little longer than he did because I was in the middle of getting my Masters at the University of Arizona—GO WILDCATS!!! But I wasn’t lonely. Besides a one legged road runner in the parking lot where I waitressed, I had lots of company (for instance my Grandma, Mom and Dad) We went to so many fabulous places. I love the Saguaro forrest. But I’ve also seen Bisbee, Tombstone, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon to name a few hot spots.

#8 Denmark: Drove to Denmark from our apartment in Germany. It was so much fun. Putting our car on the ferry, the canals, windmills, hotdogs (they sell them everywhere) and a Viking museum. Such a fun place to visit.

#7 France: We got to go to France a couple times and see a variety of different places. We even made it to the French Riviera (just gorgeous in case you’re wondering) but Paris was my favorite. There is just something about it. In this picture we are standing atop the Arc de Triomphe and overlooking the Eiffel Tower. And don’t get me started on the Louvre. There just wasn’t enough time. I must go back.

#6 England: Spent Thanksgiving weekend in London. Gahhhhh!!!!! It also wasn’t enough time to explore. And England was a bonus after living in a foreign country for several years, it’s always nice to go someplace where english is the first language. Here we were at Tower Bridge, but we saw a ton and even took in a show. My spoiled hubby gets to go back all the time for his job, but the boys and I really want to go and search for Diagon Alley and platform 9 3/4 LOL!

If we can have a Platform 9 3/4 I think this is also the time to mention my choice for #5.5 Switzerland and Austria!!!! Cheese fondue, Alps, chocolate, the Sound of Music and the gorgeous architecture. Loved them both!

#5 Prague/Poland: I know I’m cheating by putting two into one, but I’m half Czech and half Polish and I couldn’t just pick one. Prague is amazing and yes, it made me love DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE even more having stood on the St. Charles Bridge. <3

My father’s side of the family is Polish and as far as I know, I was the first person in our family to return to Poland. Of course I made a splash. I was on a bus trip with some other friends from my military community and I got the stomach flu on the way there. The very first thing I did when I arrived back at the mother land was to get sick all over the public square in Cracow. *hangs head in shame* But they didn’t throw me out of the country. *fist pump* And I had such a wonderful time. The people were so friendly and nice. I would LOVE to go back again.

You get a bonus picture with Poland because I also had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration death camp while I was in Poland. It had a profound effect on me. I had repeatedly read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was growing up. The trip here was something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I hope to bring my boys here someday to allow them to be witnesses.

#4 Egypt: The more I move up the list of my favorite places, the more I have trouble narrowing down my favorite pictures LOL! The Hubby and I gave each other a 10 Day trip with a cruise on the Nile River to each other for Christmas one year. It was such a gift to have a local travel agent in Germany put together these pre-packaged tours. This was the most amazing trip. And the best part was at this time, there wasn’t as much political and religious tension going on. We were able to play with school children outside a mosque in Cairo. We met so many wonderful people. I’d need paragraphs to fill you in on the amazingness of the trip—so you’re just going to have to take my word for it and go some day.

#3 Germany: I forced myself not to do 18,000 German pictures. Seriously—I have that many. I LOVED living in Germany for four years. I traveled all over, from Berlin to Garmisch, with a ton of places in between. I can not wait to go back with my kids and show them my other home. That is how I will always think of Germany. This picture is of me and my Dad in the old city center of Augsburg, which was where I lived. I miss it sooooooo much. The German Fests, the soccer games and the Christkindlmarkts. The food, the beer, the people, the lifestyle, the history. It was a gift to be a part of that for so long. <3

#2 Italy: Venice during Carnival. But Venice in any season—say the word and I’ll be there.

Rome! I went twice and loved it. Hanging out in the Coliseum.

And taking a boat over to the Island of Capri. *sigh* So awesome!

Seriously—I did go easy on you with the pictures. Italy is one of my favorite countries in the whole world. And no—my Italian hubby did not brainwash me. Other than Germany (where we lived) this is the country that we traveled to the most. It wasn’t enough. I want more. The food, the atmosphere, the people, the history—amazing! I think we are taking the boys there for their first European foray. Can’t wait!!!!

And drum roll please….

# 1 My home—the Hudson Valley in NY: I was born and raised here—and even after all those amazing places I just told you about—this is where I’ve returned to. There is the river, the farm land, the suburbs, the city. There are mountains to hike and ski. There are amazing restaurants and Broadway shows. And most importantly—there's the people I love. And isn’t that what really makes some place the very best place to be. 

Thank you so much for letting me take a walk down memory lane. Now I want to pack my suitcase all over again. Have you been to any of these amazing places? What other places do I absolutely have to put on my Bucket List????

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for 3, 4 and 5 year olds. After her dad passed away in 2005, she used writing as a way to make sense of the experience and discovered that she’s full of questions that need to be answered. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. She is thrilled to be part of the "Wolf Pack." TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse - Simon & Schuster, October 30, 2012)

Where to Stalk Kimberly!

Website/Goodreads/Amazon/Twitter/Facebook

Check out TOUCHING THE SURFACE by Kimberly Sabatini!

When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn't remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right. Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she'd rather keep buried. Memories of people she's hurt, people she's betrayed and people she's killed. 

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she's hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves, even if it means losing them both forever.

Goodreads/Barnes & Noble/Amazon

Win a signed copy of Touching the Surface over on the I HEART YA 2014 Giveaway page!! Go enter now!!

I HEART YA: Author Interview: Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface)

Author Kimberly Sabatini chats with us about how she came to create the concept behind her debut novel Touching the Surface, what the best part of writing in the Young Adult genre is, what was the most surprising thing she discovered about being published author and advice she has for aspiring authors.

TeamNerd Reviews: Please tell us a little about yourself!

Kimberly Sabatini: The official answer is… Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for three and four year olds. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster, October 30, 2012)  But unofficially, I’m a choc-a-holic with a particular weakness for chocolate ice cream. I haven’t been finished doing laundry in over a decade and once my kids wore my socks to school. The cherry on my sundae is that I have a fabulous singing voice, but only in the shower, if no one’s listening.

TeamNerd Reviews: When was the "AHH-HA!" moment when you knew you wanted to write Touching the Surface?

Kimberly Sabatini: I started writing after my Dad passed away 8 ½ years ago. I was compelled to return to writing in order to make sense of my world and the loss of my father. I had an infant, a toddler and a preschooler at the time, so I wrote small, manageable things like poetry and picture book manuscripts. About two and a half years later, I joined the SCBWI (the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and I attended my first conference. By some stroke of divine intervention, Laurie Halse Anderson and K.L. Going were the guest speakers. It is an understatement to say I was blown away by both of them. That moment changed me. While there, K.L. Going was advertising a local workshop she was hosting in a few weeks and the opportunity offered a 10-page critique. I decided that I was going to attend and have her evaluate my writing. I went home and wrote the first 27 pages of TOUCHING THE SURFACE. I’ll always call her my Writing Mama because she continued to mentor me through the whole journey. Laurie Halse Anderson also kept tabs on my progress and supported me as a fledgling writer. At that conference I had an AHH-HA moment about my own writing life, but I also had one about what it means to be a real part of this amazing community. I continue to roll model myself after these amazing authors in a million different ways.

TeamNerd Reviews: What was the process like for you in creating Touching the Surface?

Kimberly Sabatini: It was a true work-in-progress. I recently attend a school visit where a student asked me how many novels I’d written. I told them that TOUCHING THE SURFACE was my first one. The student nodded, acknowledging that TTS was my debut, but then he asked how many novels (practice novels) I wrote in order to write one that could be published. My response was the same. This is the only novel I’ve ever written. Prior to that I’d capped out on a high school term paper. I am thrilled to say that my very first attempt at writing a book came to fruition, but it was a slow and laborious process. I was learning so much on the fly. I was reading books on the side, attending conferences, scouring the inter net and using my peers to help me grow. I hit lots of speed bumps along the way. I can definitely say that my work on Book 2 (THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY) has it’s own challenges, but I came to it with a lot more skill and knowledge than I had before.

TeamNerd Reviews: Team Oliver or Team Trevor?

Kimberly Sabatini: * SPOILER ALERT *I don’t see Elliot’s relationship with Oliver and Trevor as a traditional love triangle. I’ve always thought of it more as a love knot, where people who care about each other get tangled in each other’s lives and mistakes. The truth is, Oliver was only four years old in the version of TTS that I sold to Simon & Schuster. And while I LOVE the changes that were made by aging him up, I’ve always viewed him through that filter. But that also means that neither boy has ever had to compete for my attention. I’ve loved them both. I believe one of the perks of TOUCHING THE SURFACE is that it’s perfectly acceptable to be Team Oliver AND Team Trevor.

TeamNerd Reviews: What is the best part about writing for Young Adults?

Kimberly Sabatini: It’s the opportunity to add my voice to the group of writers who talk up to their readers. It is my personal belief that young adults are continuously under valued and under estimated. Writing for this audience is magical. Teens have a passion and drive to become something more and I consider it a privilege to have my thoughts and words woven into their limitless potential. I take the responsibility of bringing them my best writing, very seriously.

TeamNerd Reviews: Who are your writing inspirations?

Kimberly Sabatini: I LOVE listing my inspirations. In no particular order…Lois Lowry, Laurie Halse Anderson, K.L. Going, John Green, Sara Zarr, A.S. King, Ruta Sepetys, J.K. Rowling, Chris Crutcher, Gary Schmidt, Judy Blume, Katherine Patterson, Anne Frank, Barbra Park, Richard Peck, Ellen Hopkins, Sharon Creech, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Beverly Cleary, Gary Paulsen, Lee Harper, Rick Riordan, Wendy Mass, Jacqueline Woodson, Bill Bryson, Suzanne Collins and Laura Hillenbrand. I should probably stop now, right?

TeamNerd Reviews: What was the most surprising thing about becoming a published author?

Kimberly Sabatini: There are new surprises every day--some are good and some are bad. The key words I focus on are flexibility and resilience. Ultimately, the biggest surprise for me is how much I want this. I’ve always struggled with taking criticism and this is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to bend instead of break under its weight. I think that shows just how invested I am in this process. I don’t just want to be a good writer—I want to be a great one. I know it will take lots of time and effort, but I feel determined to continue growing.

TeamNerd Reviews: Do you have any projects currently in the works?

Kimberly Sabatini: I do! I’m revising my second novel, THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY. I’m hoping you’ll be hearing more about it soon. I’m also working on my 3^rd book called CHASING ADAPTATION.

TeamNerd Reviews: Name three things that are on your desk right now!

Kimberly Sabatini: I have two cats, my trusty laptop (that I love like a 4^th child) and a stack of books for research and inspiration in my writing--plus 82,000 other things, in untidy piles, because that’s how I roll.

TeamNerd Reviews: If you could give just one piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would it be?

Kimberly Sabatini: Know the ins and outs of the publishing business and the craft of writing, but do not let that knowledge sit with you while you’re drafting a novel. Write your truth and then bring out your internal editor and marketing team once it’s down on paper. I believe the only chance you have at being the next big thing, is to be yourself. It is what makes you unique in a sea of trends. Do not under estimate your worth and your truth. When you strip all of the nose away—you should always be writing for the love of it.

Thank you so much for asking such thoughtful questions and inviting me to participate in I HEART YA! Many, many ((((hugs))))

Enter to win a SIGNED copy of TOUCHING THE SURFACE on the I HEART YA page!

I HEART YA: Book Spotlight + Sneak Peek: Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini

Check out on Goodreads!

Purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

Synopsis: When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

Sneak Peek

My body smacked the water. Thoughts scattered like a handful of beads dropped on a bare wood floor. I gasped for air and the current rushed in. My throat burned. Panic, thrashing, spots of light exploding in my head. Surrender. I sank softly down . . . until . . . fingers wrapped around my wrist, yanking me out of the water. As my head broke the surface it all became clear. I had died . . . again.

I stood on the end of the dock that jutted out toward the middle of the lake, fingering the silver eagle feather charm that hung in the hollow below my neck. The chain tangled in the short hairs below my ponytail. I was stunned and spots bounced in front of my eyes. Memories of Mel and my previous visits to the Obmil were rushing at me, but when it came to knowing who I was in my last life, all I could pull from the murky haze was the fact that I was a girl. A girl and a failure.

"Samantha? Is that really you?" Mel inhaled deeply and smiled, confirming that she knew exactly who I was.

It was starting to come back to me now. Everything around me looked the same as it had on my last two visits. I, on the other hand, was guaranteed to appear completely different. But that wasn't unusual or problematic. A soul in the afterlife is recognizable. When you arrive at the Obmil in the last body you inhabited, it really isn't much different than showing up at a family reunion in a different outfit. Everyone has a scent, a personal pheromone that overrides the optical illusion of the body they're wearing. I'm told my soul smells a little like freshly cut wood and dark chocolate.

Mel took another deep breath and smiled at me, her face warm and welcoming. Slowly, the knot of information in my head was unraveling. It was Mel's familiar hand that had pulled me from the water, out of my third life. That made sense. After all, she'd greeted me on my last two arrivals at the Obmil Center for Progression. Crappity, crap, crap-this meant I was here for the third time. I was stuck.

Enter to win ONE of TWO SIGNED copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE on the Signed Copies Giveaway Pile on the I HEART YA page!

I HEART YA: Featured Author Spotlight: Kimberly Sabatini

About the Author: Kimberly Sabatini

Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for three and four year olds. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency.

TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster, October 30, 2012)

Where to Stalk Kimberly!

Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Tumblr