Demetra Brodsky

DIVE SMACK • 2018 • Tor Teen/Macmillan

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COMMERCE LOVES READING BOOK FESTIVAL

  • City of Commerce Public Library Commerce USA (map)
Earlier Event: December 2
Mysterious Galaxy YA Author Panel
Later Event: June 23
DIVE SMACK LAUNCH PARTY

Follow @demebrodsky on Instagram

The paperback edition of DIVE SMACK showed up on my doorstep this week and I’m swooning over my own book (matte cover, pool blue endpapers) and the amazing back cover blurb by @kim2legit2quit! Thank you 🙏🏼 @torteen and @besscozby —- they’re gorgeous — you’re the best! The paperback of #divesmack releases in June 18th! … 🔥❤️💧 #bookish #yabookstagram #yaauthor #bookaholic #igreads #yathriller #instareads #bookphotography #goodreads #bookfan #bookgram #yabooks #jlgselection #totalbooknerd #booknerdigans #booklove #psychologicalthrillers #bookaddiction #booksofinstagram #bookcollection #igbooks #bookphoto #bookworms #booknerds #bookslover #bookpassion #bookobsessed #booktastic #bibliomania
Celebrating the High School Graduation of our beautiful daughter @poison.ava!! It all went by so fast. Onward and upward! CHS class of 2019! 🎉🎉🎉 … #carlsbadhigh2019 #familytime #carlsbadhighschool #celebrating #proudparents
We went to Paris as part of our anniversary trip. On our last night in France, we sat on the lawn of the Parc du Champ-de-Mars sipping pink champagne, staring up at the Eiffel Tower’s nightly lighting display in awe as it went off like fireworks. There are some moments in life that steal your breath, and one in particular that makes you understand why Paris is considered the most romantic city in the world. It was an unforgettable way to end our visit to this beautiful city. 🇫🇷 Je t’aime, Paris. Au revoir. Merci beau coup. … #yaauthirsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #travel #travelgram #explore #wanderlust #authorlife #vacay #takemeback #jetaimeparis #writersofinstagram #writerlife #bookresearch #cityofparis #cityoflights #wanderings #traveladdict #authortravels #travellust #visitnewplaces #bookresearch #writer #bookish #agreatbigworld #anniversarytrip #isntitromantic #romanceisaliveinparis #paris #europe #france
I love this amazing book display we came across in the Shoreditch area of London! Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 … #bookish #bookaddict #bookaholic #igreads #instabooks #instareads #bookphotography #goodreads #bookfan #bookgram #yaauthor #bookcommunity #bookaddiction #writer #booksofinstagram #bookcollection #igbooks #totalbooknerd #booknerdigans #bookgeek #booklove #bookishlove #pridemonth #london #shoreditch #shoreditchlondon #travel #explorenewcities #pridesupporter #yaauthorsofinstagram
The Catacombs in Paris were intense. The ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries. Preparation work began not long after a 1774 series of Saint Innocents-cemetery-quarter basement wall collapses, which added a sense of urgency to the cemetery-eliminating measures. From 1786, nightly processions of covered wagons transferred remains from most of Paris' cemeteries to a mine shaft opened near the Rue de la Tombe-Issoire. It’s definitely a must see if you’re traveling to Paris and that sort of thing doesn’t creep you out, or even if it does, to be honest. … #amplotting #authorabroad #travel #travelgram #explore #wanderlust #authorlife #vacay #writersofinstagram #writerlife #travelling #bookresearch #paris #france #catacombsofparis #newbookideacollection #wanderings #traveladdict #authortravels #travellust #visitnewplaces #bookresearch #writer #bookish #yaauthorsofinstagram
My daughter just said, “My anxiety is what drives me,” in regards to her screenwriting and filmmaking. (She was just selected as an Assistant Editor on a feature length film for this summer) The funny thing is I said the exact same thing yesterday about my own writing. Raising the next generation of overachievers. You’re welcome 😂 … #bookish #futurefilmmaker #motherdaughter #anxietylife #yaauthorsofinstagram #slampoet #pridemonth #creativityquotes #dothework #anxietyandcreativity #femalefilmmakers #nevergiveup #makeithappen #yaauthor #writersofinstagram #screenwriting #futuremotherdaughterwritingteam #nobodygetstotellyouhowbigtodream #thefutureoffilmmaking #coloroutsidethelines #thefutureoffilmisfemale #itfuelsmyhatefire
The Arc de Triomphe in Paris is truly stunning! Commissioned by Napoleon I to honor the victories of his Grande Armée, it is the linchpin of L’Axe historique — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route that stretches from the courtyard of the Louvre to the outskirts of Paris. 🇫🇷 … #paris #europe #france #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #travel #travelgram #explore #wanderlust #authorlife #vacay #writersofinstagram #writerlife #wanderings #traveladdict #authortravels
#tarawestovereducated has been on my #tbr since it came out for two reasons. The first is that I love a good memoir. Give me @the.jeannette.walls! Bring me @augustenburroughs! All hail @joandidion! But I picked up Tara Westover’s EDUCATED specifically because I’m revising a book about sisters that are doomsday preppers with my editor @besscozby @torteen @macmillanusa (look for it May 2020- woot woot), and I wanted to read the first-hand account of someone who was raised as a survivalist. As in, she didn’t choose the survivalist life, the survivalist life chose her. I’m only a quarter way into the book and thoroughly hooked! I don’t want to get too spoilery, so I’ll just say that I’m grateful she wrote this important book and you should add it to your TBR today. If you’ve never read a memoir and aren’t sure if you’ll like them, I promise, any of the authors listed in this post won’t disappoint. Trust me, memories and real life can be just as intriguing as fiction, sometimes more so. What’s your favorite memoir or autobiography? … #bookish #bookaddict #bookaholic #igreads #instabooks #instareads #bookphotography #goodreads #ilovebooks #flatlay #memoir #bookfan #bookgram #bookcommunity #totalbooknerd #booknerdigans #bookgeek #booklove #theyearofmagicalthinking #runningwithscissors #educated #autobiography #theglasscastle #survivaliststories #prepperskills #youchooseyourdestiny
Yasass! Hello everyone! My visit to The Acropolis, The Temple of Athena, The Monument of Agrippa, The Theatre of Dionysus, and The Sanctuary of Artemis defies words. Though that’s never stopped me. I love my Greek heritage and fell in love hard with Athens. My family is from Epirus (Ioannina and Filiates), a 45-minute propeller plane ride away (yes, the tiny plane was scary and exhilarating). We were only in Athens for one night, but managed to see and do a ton. All of these historic and mythological landmarks are in the same location (pro tip), and because our plane arrived late in the day, we raced to the top to see everything. The good thing about that was there were less people and we had plenty of time to sit quietly and take in all of its majesty. Everyone we met in shops and cafes afterward was lovely. I never felt threatened in plaka, despite rumors that the city is unsafe, though I did guard my belongings. Maybe the offering I made Zeus in Dodoni prior protected me. Maybe it’s because I’m a daughter of Greece. Whatever it was, I’d return to Athens and Greece in a heartbeat and can’t wait to see where future travels take us. I’m gearing up to revise and reincarnate an old Greek Mythology manuscript. How could I not? The place is in my heart and in my veins. Na ‘sai kala! Be well! 🇬🇷❤️🇺🇸 … #wanderlust #writersofinstagram #writerlife #travelling #bookresearch #greece #newbookideacollection #wanderings #traveladdict #obsessed #travelgram #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #agape #authortravels #explore #travellust #travel #visitnewplaces #bookresearch #writer #athens #theacropolis #bookish #newwipcomingsoon #newwip #travellust #25thanniversary #greekamerican #greekmythology #luckygirl #agreatbigworld
I can’t stop staring at this gorgeous photo of DIVE SMACK by my friend and fellow author Posted @withrepost @debradriza —- See Debra’s other page @socalfamilywanderson for amazing travel ideas and photos. … Need a great read to help you dive into the 3-day weekend? Try the addictive young adult mystery DIVE SMACK by talented author & my good friend @demebrodsky. . . This weekend, I’m planning on paddle boarding, reading, hiking, and celebrating a very special hound’s 15th birthday. Whatever you’re up to over the next few days, enjoy! ⭐️ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #yalit #youngadultbooks #booknerd #bookish #bookobsessed #readingcommunity #yabooks #yabookstagram #bookstagram #bookthisvacation #amazingview #sandiegoliving #sandiegogram #amreading #beachreads #divesmack #travelinladies #visualstyle #booksinthewild #oceanphotography #stayandwander #weekendvibes #vacationreads #instagood #getoutside #beachlife #visitcalifornia #vacay #friendshipgoals #torteen
Montmartre, Paris was my favorite place to visit on my trip to Europe. What's not to love about this lively hilltop village, home to 300 registered artists painting en plein air as you walk the streets or sip epresso or wine. It's home to the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, the prestigious Montmartre Abbey, and the Love Lock Bridge. For me, it was a place to wrap my head around being in the same place as several artists I love (and studied while getting my B.F.A. @massartboston) who lived and worked in this area of Paris. A haven for impressionists and post-impressionists that moved to Montmartre in the 19th century after being chased from the Left Bank. Drawn by the bohemian atmosphere and the cheap rent for studios. They frequented the inns and cafés that welcomed them most and exchanged paintings, drawings, engravings, sculpture or poems for food and drink. Painters like Pissarro, Degas, Sisley, Cézanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and later Toulouse-Lautrec. They chatted about their projects while playing billiards in the garden. This is where Renoir became inspired to paint his famous painting "Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette." In this very spot, in 1876. The same place Van Gogh painted "Guinguette." In the autumn of 1886, Van Gogh, who lived with his brother Theo at 54 Rue Lepic, discovered Aux Billards en Bois and its garden. Here, his young friend Toulouse-Lautrec invited him to drink absinthe. During the two years he spent in Montmartre, Van Gogh created more than 200 works, including paintings and drawings of varied subjects: landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits. In the garden of the restaurant that later became La Bonne Franquette (where I sat and drank coffee and wine and ate French cheese and bread), Van Gogh painted his famous small painting "La Guinguette", which now hangs in the Musée d’Orsay. A museum and painting I also had the pleasure of seeing. I left a piece of my heart on the hill above the City of Lights and can't wait to return to step backward in time with tears of joy, appreciation, and gratitude in my eyes once again. Je t'aime Paris. Merci beaucoup. ❤️❤️❤️ . . . . . #montmartre #montmartreparis #travel #famouspainters
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with my looks. Always cursing why I wasn’t born with a small nose or slim hips. Why my thicc body was built for climbing mountains, but not for the clothes on racks that hang on spindly models like wet dishcloths. Never did I feel this more acutely than the 12 years I’ve spent living in Southern California, where so many faces are unremarkable and carved by the same wicked hand. The sad side effect of cunning and unrealistic marketing made to tear women down and hold them to a false standard for profit. A place where a friend who knew little about my family history or background once told me with offensive certainty that I wasn’t ethnic. Or perhaps, according to a narrow worldview not ethnic enough for her to consider me little more than American (IHHO). And then, I went Europe. A first-generation Greek American returned to the land of her ancestors. I saw my face mirrored in other Greek women, on statues, and in street art. My thicc legs carried me up 600 stairs in a Greek cave considered a worldwide geographic phenomena. They were my steadfast wings, given by Hermes, Eros, Zeus, carrying me up a mountain in Voreios Epirus where the air was crisp and clean, thin and dizzying so I could visit my Yai Yai’s birthplace and war prison and collect her history from people far older and wiser than me. My native tongue poured from lips in Greece like ambrosia. And when I drank from the same mountain stream my grandparents once did, it ran though my veins like mythological ichor and renewed my sense of purpose and belonging. I knew, then and there, at the top of that mountain I am, and always have been, more than enough. I am strength and resilience. War and revenge. History and heartache. Betrayal and love. And I carry the stories of my people, both mythological and historical, in my veins, my skin, my hair, and my bones with honor. 🇬🇷❤️🇺🇸 . #ioannina #athens #voreios #greece #europetravel #epirus #european #greekamerican #family #amplotting #history #newbookideacollection #ourstoriesmatter #greekhistory #yaauthorsofinstagram #demeter #ownvoices #greekgoddess #greekwomen #yaauthor #authorabroad #greekmythology #greekstagram
Three copies of #divesmack came to Europe with me to give to family & friends. I suppose Theo, Chip, and Iris are international travelers now. So many relatives and friends asked why it wasn’t translated into Greek. Maybe some day it will be. For now, it made my heart happy to have more people wanting to read this book and thankful for the handful of people that can read it in English. 🔥❤️💧 … #bookish #bookstagram #bookworm #yalit #yaauthor #thriller #suspense #torteen #macmillan #booknerd #hotread #readmorebooks #teammonarch #divesmack #writers #yougotthis
BEST PICTURE WINNER! I’m so proud of my daughter @poison.ava for winning top prize for her short film MANIC PIXIE DEAD GIRL at her high school film festival. The Carlsbad High School Gold-Certified linked learning film academy has been an amazing and supportive early launch pad for her career. Our entire family is excited to see what comes next! 🎥🎞❤️ … #proudmama #futurefilmmaker #highschoolfilmfestival #femalefilmmakers #thefutureoffilmmaking #thefutureoffilmisfemale @c.s.u.l.b #goldcertifiedlinkedlearningprogram
Posted @withrepost • @poison.ava First day of the film Festival done! 💛🎬🖤 I’m so proud of my daughter @poison.ava — She works so hard on her films. I’m so fortunate to bear witness to everything coming for her in the future. If anyone is looking for a kick-ass hardworking film intern, I’ve got a rockstar for you. 🔥 🎞 🎥 … #proudmama #futurefilmmaker #highschoolfilmfestival #femalefilmmakers #thefutureoffilmmaking #thefutureoffilmisfemale
Lake Pamvotida, Ioannina, Greece, the second largest lake in Europe is stunning at night. I love this city in the Epirus section of Greece. This is my Greece. The Greece where my mother was raised before coming to the United States. An area full of rapid rivers, stunning gorges, snow-capped mountains. A place where swans and geese swim. Where cats and dogs bask in the sun, and everyone greats you with a smile. Thank god my parents sent me to Greek school so I could learn to read and write Greek. It’s getting me baklava points wherever I go. I’d say brownie points, but...that’s not accurate. 🇬🇷❤️ … #ioannina #ioanninacity #greece #nofilter #europetravel #european #greekamerican #family #ioanninalake #amplotting #history #bilingual #itsliterallyallgreektome #nature #greekamerican #greeklife #nofilterneeded #newbookideacollection #naturalbeauty #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #besteuropephotos #authorabroad #writersabroad #ioanninalove #lakepamvotida #imhome #authorlife #tuesday #tuesdaythoughts
This goat was sitting in a plastic chair when we stopped in Albania on the way to visit grandmother’s birthplace. I wanted to take him home.🇬🇷❤️ … #ioannina #ioanninacity #greece #europetravel #european #albania #permetalbania #greekamerican #family #amplotting #history #fourcountries #newbookideacollection #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #besteuropephotos
The Ali Pasha Museum in Ioannina, Epirus, Greece. My mother’s home town. 🇬🇷♥️My sister Nia came today. More adventures await... … #ioannina #ioanninacity #greece #history #greekgoddesses #europetravel #european #greekamerican #family #amplotting #history #daughterofgaia #newbookideacollection #daughtersofzeus #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #besteuropephotos
First frappe and gyro in Ioannina, Greece. Being in my mother’s home city, seeing the ruins from the war with the Turks, the history of the Ottoman Empire, and the people has the blood in my veins rushing. I feel so alive and filled with my culture. 🇬🇷❤️ … #ioannina #ioanninacity #greece #europetravel #european #greekamerican #family #amplotting #history #newbookideacollection #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #authorabroad #besteuropephotos
Today we went to Le Marais and Jardin du Luxembourg. The weather is unseasonably chilly and a little rainy, but Paris is beautiful in the rain and everyone is embracing the cold snap with good cheer and friendliness. It was a beautiful day to visit the book store and get a book stamped by @shakespeareandcoparis. I chose jack Kerouac Satori in Paris and Pic. We had delicious crème glacée. I chose chocolate noir. We ate delicious fondue, drank French hot chocolate, drank lots of wine, and brought baguettes, cheese, and wine back to the apartment. It was an amazing first full day. There’s so much to love here. 🇫🇷❤️ … #paris #travel #eurostar #francophile #londontoparis #europe #comeawaywithme #yaauthorsofinstagram #yaauthor #wander #france #lesjardinduluxembourg #Europe #gosomeplacenew #tresbien #palaisduluxembourg #yaauthorineurope #londonparisgreece #threecountries #marais #fondue #frenchwine #cremeglacee #shakespeareandcompanyparis