After ranting about good guys, I got my fix over the weekend by watching Hallmark movies. Yeah, they're sappy and obviously done on the cheap, but they don't seem to be making romantic comedies for the big screen these days, so this is the only way to get my fix. Bonus: the characters are usually adults. The heroes are men, not overgrown manchild fratboys, as we've been seeing too much of in the few "romantic" comedies that have been made recently. That means the heroines can be adults without being depicted as humorless shrews who are forcing these men to grow up. Also, the heroes are almost always the "good guys," rather than jerks who need to be healed with love. The jerks are usually "Mr. Wrong," while the nice guy prevails in the end.
Ironically, this seems to be where the actors who play the good guys on science fiction shows tend to end up (probably because of the Canada filming connection). In fact, the actor who played the character I was ranting about Friday showed up as the leading man recently in one of these movies.
However, these movies don't entirely scratch the romantic comedy itch because they kind of fail in the romance part. It's sort of there, but for the most part, they forget to write the actual relationship. I don't think it's just because of how chaste these movies tend to be because you can write the romance and relationship even without the physical stuff being front and center (just look at how juicy some of the movies made during the height of the strict production code could be). There's just something missing.
In two recent movies I watched, part of the problem is that the focus for the heroine is generally on something else. That's fine if you're making a movie about finding yourself, building a career, or female empowerment. It just doesn't work when you tack on an ending in which she resolves a romantic relationship that wasn't really there. It's even weirder when the story given to the man is the romance, and he's shown as being really into the woman while she's missing all the signals. She's treating him the way I treat a man I'm not interested in when he's trying to make moves and I don't want to have to outright reject him -- right up to the happy ending when suddenly they're kissing. The standard romantic plot seems to go like:
Meet cute! Sparks seem to fly!
HERO: Wow, you're like a breath of fresh air. I find you fascinating.
HEROINE: I'm really concerned about my career. This could be my big break, and I need to make it work.
Cue lots of scenes of them together, showing obvious connections, like them having the same dreams for their lives.
HERO: You're the most amazing person I've ever met. We should pursue our dreams together.
HEROINE: Oops, gotta go. I've got this big career thing I need to take care of. I'm really busy right now.
Career-related crisis ensues, heroine gets her act together and prevails.
HEROINE: Hey, let's get together and pursue our dreams! (Throws her arms around him and kisses him. There may be an epilogue showing their wedding.)
It's like there's no emotion whatsoever on her part until the end. She's not interested but torn. She's not agonizing over having to choose love or her career. She's happily pursuing her career and oblivious about the guy until she abruptly is all over the guy. It's like "Friendzone, friendzone, friendzone, LOVE!" (And, really, that's not helping by sending the signal that when we're constantly talking about being too busy or focused on other things to get together, we're eventually going to come around. Though I guess the odds are slim that the men who don't get the message in real life are watching Hallmark movies.) We don't even see the moment of realization that she does love him, after all, no fear of losing him. I don't necessarily want to see the RomCom Dash -- that last-second frantic chase across town to reach him before he sails away forever -- in every movie, but it does help if we get some sense of "hey, the right guy was with me all along, and I might lose him if I don't do something about it" rather than the abrupt switch. There's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.
I wrote that one script for a TV Christmas movie, but I'm currently attempting to turn it into a novella or short novel because I've realized in watching more of these films that my script probably wouldn't make it. I wrote it more for the Lifetime or ABC Family model, since it had a fantasy element to it, but now Hallmark has taken over the Christmas movie thing, and they don't seem to do much of the fantasy element (aside from the "Santa is real!" stories) and they don't want much in the way of romance, even while doing a romance. With most of these movies, Christmas or otherwise, it would be so easy to fix them without changing the budget, which suggests that they're getting just what they want.
Really, what I want is a good screenwriter/filmmaker to be able to make a good big-screen romantic comedy in which the characters get to be adults. We need something along the lines of a When Harry Met Sally, and it's been a long time since anything on that level was made.
Showing posts with label GCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GCC. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2016
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Debbie Rigaud
I still have lots of work to do, since yesterday I had to come up with a whole new scene and it took me a while to figure out what it should be. Before I head back to the salt mines, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Debbie Rigaud, author of the new teen romantic comedy Perfect Shot.
London Abrams likes to spike volleyballs, not wear spike heels. But in one crush-tasic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest to get the attention of its cute photography intern. Never in a million years did London expect to get selected as a finalist. Before she knows it, she’s in an online reality show competition against 14 super chic chicks–including her childhood frenemy.
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
I've met and read about so many ambitious teens over the years, so I wanted to create a passionately goal-oriented character. In PERFECT SHOT, London Abrams is a totally driven girl. The same goes for her crush Brent, who's already taking steps toward a career in photography.
When you were a teen, were you more of a jock girl or a chic girl?
I was more of a jock girl--although the sport I played (outside of gym class) was "spectator sport!" I was a HUGE major league baseball fan. Instead of plastering posters of New Kids on the Block or New Edition to my locker door, I had the NY Mets' game schedule taped neatly to it. Good times.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the heroine of this book?
Well, a lot of people have said that I look like the girl in the cover art. For the record, I had nothing to do with that. LOL! But seriously, London Abrams and I have both endured teasing because of our long, lean, lanky physiques. Oddly enough, London has moved past that awkward stage, whereas I'm sort of still in it. (If one more person calls me "skinny" I'm gonna screeeeaaam!)
Your book is a milestone for Simon Pulse. Can you tell us what that means to you?
Thank you for mentioning it! I'm very happy about bringing an African-American protagonist to the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies. Crazy thing is, this "integration first" is a scenario that's played out in my life several times before. Back in my teens when I worked at a clothing store, my boss had me integrate his team of cashiers after a customer complained that there were no people of color in that coveted position. You should've seen how he did it. He marched right up and pointed to me: "You, Debbie -- get up on register!" At the time I remember thinking, Why me? Now I say, Why not me?
When you were working as a journalist, did you always have dreams of becoming a novelist, or did that come later on?
I loved working as a magazine writer. But behind the scenes, yes, I dreamed of weaving fictional tales -- but not in the way you'd think. I saw myself eventually becoming a TV writer. I dabbled with screenplays and obsessed over the script sales listings. But thanks to friends' suggestions and a little more self discovery, I found that my writing style is a nice fit for novels. But don't count me out in the TV writing world yet!
I have to ask this as we're coming out of a serious cold snap (in Texas! There was still ice in the canals yesterday!), but tell us a little bit about what it's like to live in Bermuda. Emphasize the warm parts. :)
LOL! Well, if it's any consolation, I found myself missing snow and wintry weather around the holidays. :-) Bermuda is great. My husband and I moved here two years ago and it's so different from my East Orange, NJ hometown. We've had so many visitors from home, it feels like we run a bed & breakfast! Aside from the lovely palm trees and gorgeous (and very close!) beaches, the culture and the people are awesome. I now drive British-style, on the left side of the road; I say things like "car park" instead of "parking lot"; and I shiver and scream for mercy in 65-degree weather. What's happened to me? I'm in for a rocky transition when we move back home.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on another romantic comedy and a humorous novel inspired by my strict upbringing. There's also a paranormal story on the backburner. I can't wait to share more details about them in the coming months.
For more info, visit Debbie's blog. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
London Abrams likes to spike volleyballs, not wear spike heels. But in one crush-tasic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest to get the attention of its cute photography intern. Never in a million years did London expect to get selected as a finalist. Before she knows it, she’s in an online reality show competition against 14 super chic chicks–including her childhood frenemy.
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
I've met and read about so many ambitious teens over the years, so I wanted to create a passionately goal-oriented character. In PERFECT SHOT, London Abrams is a totally driven girl. The same goes for her crush Brent, who's already taking steps toward a career in photography.
When you were a teen, were you more of a jock girl or a chic girl?
I was more of a jock girl--although the sport I played (outside of gym class) was "spectator sport!" I was a HUGE major league baseball fan. Instead of plastering posters of New Kids on the Block or New Edition to my locker door, I had the NY Mets' game schedule taped neatly to it. Good times.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the heroine of this book?
Well, a lot of people have said that I look like the girl in the cover art. For the record, I had nothing to do with that. LOL! But seriously, London Abrams and I have both endured teasing because of our long, lean, lanky physiques. Oddly enough, London has moved past that awkward stage, whereas I'm sort of still in it. (If one more person calls me "skinny" I'm gonna screeeeaaam!)
Your book is a milestone for Simon Pulse. Can you tell us what that means to you?
Thank you for mentioning it! I'm very happy about bringing an African-American protagonist to the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies. Crazy thing is, this "integration first" is a scenario that's played out in my life several times before. Back in my teens when I worked at a clothing store, my boss had me integrate his team of cashiers after a customer complained that there were no people of color in that coveted position. You should've seen how he did it. He marched right up and pointed to me: "You, Debbie -- get up on register!" At the time I remember thinking, Why me? Now I say, Why not me?
When you were working as a journalist, did you always have dreams of becoming a novelist, or did that come later on?
I loved working as a magazine writer. But behind the scenes, yes, I dreamed of weaving fictional tales -- but not in the way you'd think. I saw myself eventually becoming a TV writer. I dabbled with screenplays and obsessed over the script sales listings. But thanks to friends' suggestions and a little more self discovery, I found that my writing style is a nice fit for novels. But don't count me out in the TV writing world yet!
I have to ask this as we're coming out of a serious cold snap (in Texas! There was still ice in the canals yesterday!), but tell us a little bit about what it's like to live in Bermuda. Emphasize the warm parts. :)
LOL! Well, if it's any consolation, I found myself missing snow and wintry weather around the holidays. :-) Bermuda is great. My husband and I moved here two years ago and it's so different from my East Orange, NJ hometown. We've had so many visitors from home, it feels like we run a bed & breakfast! Aside from the lovely palm trees and gorgeous (and very close!) beaches, the culture and the people are awesome. I now drive British-style, on the left side of the road; I say things like "car park" instead of "parking lot"; and I shiver and scream for mercy in 65-degree weather. What's happened to me? I'm in for a rocky transition when we move back home.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on another romantic comedy and a humorous novel inspired by my strict upbringing. There's also a paranormal story on the backburner. I can't wait to share more details about them in the coming months.
For more info, visit Debbie's blog. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Eileen Cook
I only thought I survived the return to ballet. The thighs started complaining mid-afternoon yesterday and are still mildly stiff. I will not, however, do something like take a walk to loosen them up, as we're in the grip of the coldest weather to hit this area in 14 years. We won't be above freezing until maybe Sunday. I suppose I'll have to do some indoor exercise -- probably jumping up and down and yelling at the TV during the national championship game tonight. Hook 'em Horns!
After a holiday hiatus, the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit is back. As a refresher, this is a group of women writers who tour through each other's blogs when we have book releases. I think it's a fun way to learn about other authors. I'm in the group that includes young adult books, since what I write tends to have more in common with that field than it does with the more serious romance and women's fiction in the other group. There's a lot more fantasy/paranormal in the YA group. So, anyway, my guest this time is Eileen Cook, author of the book Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood, which sounds like so much fun that I absolutely must find a copy the next time it's warm enough to leave the house.
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.
But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.
I interviewed Eileen about her book:
Be honest here, is there even a tiny scrap of the inspiration for this book that comes from real life -- any old scores you're settling in fiction?
Like most people, I did have someone close to me betray my trust. So if you did something mean to me in high school and now you wonder if what happened to your jeans wasn't an accident since you read this book, I can neither confirm or deny anything for legal reasons! Truthfully, I think fictional revenge is much more fun than real revenge. First of all you won't go to jail which is a bonus, and anything you can imagine you can do.
As a teen, were you more of a Lauren or more of a Helen?
I was much more of a Helen. I used to swear I was invisible in high school. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't unpopular either. It used to make me want to do something to really make an impression on everyone, like run naked screaming down the hall or declare in front of the entire school that I was in fact an international spy who was in the witness protection agency- but I never did.
If you could catch up now with someone who hurt you as a teen, what would you like them to know about you -- about how you felt then or about what's become of you?
I would like to know why. What was the point? I don't understand the need to be mean to other people. I'm fine with not liking someone. I don't care if you don't want to hang out with someone, but to be mean to someone because of the way they look or what they believe, makes no sense to me. I would want them to know that I turned out just fine. Life is good.
If someone had been gunning for you in high school, what would have been the things most important to you that they'd have targeted?
I spent a lot of high school worrying way too much over what people thought of me. It took me awhile to understand that the only opinions I should be worried about are my own and the people that matter to me. If someone was gunning for me (then or now) they would go after the people I care about. I am one of those people who will do anything for my friends. Go ahead- make fun of my outfit, but make fun of my friends and look out.
What writing projects are you working on now?
I am working on a new YA that will be out next year around this time. It is a reworking of The Scarlet Letter set in a modern day high school. I'm having so much fun with it! I'm also working on a middle grade series where the main character is a part of a fairy godmother family. The only wish she wants to grant is her own- to be normal. Sadly for her- normal doesn't come too easy.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about this book?
I guarantee this book will make you laugh out loud. A full on- snort Diet Coke up your nose kind of laugh.
For more info, visit Eileen's web site. Or you can stock up on Diet Coke and order the book from Amazon.
You know, when I saw the premise, I immediately went, "Ooooh, it's all my revenge fantasies!" but then when I started thinking about it, I never had anyone really betray me like that. My school was possibly an odd one because our popular girls were popular because they were really nice to people. Our mean girls weren't popular. I may not have been BFF with the popular girls, but they weren't mean to me (I was actually "school friends" with the popular girls -- we had a lot of classes together and hung out some at school, though I didn't get invited to their after-school stuff). I was mostly upset with the boys, who all seemed to really enjoy hanging out with me when we were working on our homework but who never considered me as someone they were willing to date. That was the kind of betrayal I felt, where I thought a guy was showing interest in me and that inviting me over to study was a prelude to starting to go out, only to find out he was actually already dating someone else and wasn't the least bit interested in me for anything other than school work. I might have thought about some way of getting back at one of those guys while I was still in high school, but I'm not sure that even then I'd have wanted to actually hurt them. That's the kind of thing where living well is the best revenge, and I got that at class reunions. I know now that I wouldn't have wanted to marry any of those guys, and I was a late bloomer (I think I'm far more attractive in my 40s than I was as a teenager), so it's fun to think that they may not have wanted to date me then, but now I'm way out of their league.
My revenge fantasies tend to be more in the professional realm these days, and even there, it's more of a "living well" scenario, not that I would mind if certain people ended up having torpedoed their own careers by making bad decisions involving me.
After a holiday hiatus, the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit is back. As a refresher, this is a group of women writers who tour through each other's blogs when we have book releases. I think it's a fun way to learn about other authors. I'm in the group that includes young adult books, since what I write tends to have more in common with that field than it does with the more serious romance and women's fiction in the other group. There's a lot more fantasy/paranormal in the YA group. So, anyway, my guest this time is Eileen Cook, author of the book Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood, which sounds like so much fun that I absolutely must find a copy the next time it's warm enough to leave the house.
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.
But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.
I interviewed Eileen about her book:
Be honest here, is there even a tiny scrap of the inspiration for this book that comes from real life -- any old scores you're settling in fiction?
Like most people, I did have someone close to me betray my trust. So if you did something mean to me in high school and now you wonder if what happened to your jeans wasn't an accident since you read this book, I can neither confirm or deny anything for legal reasons! Truthfully, I think fictional revenge is much more fun than real revenge. First of all you won't go to jail which is a bonus, and anything you can imagine you can do.
As a teen, were you more of a Lauren or more of a Helen?
I was much more of a Helen. I used to swear I was invisible in high school. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't unpopular either. It used to make me want to do something to really make an impression on everyone, like run naked screaming down the hall or declare in front of the entire school that I was in fact an international spy who was in the witness protection agency- but I never did.
If you could catch up now with someone who hurt you as a teen, what would you like them to know about you -- about how you felt then or about what's become of you?
I would like to know why. What was the point? I don't understand the need to be mean to other people. I'm fine with not liking someone. I don't care if you don't want to hang out with someone, but to be mean to someone because of the way they look or what they believe, makes no sense to me. I would want them to know that I turned out just fine. Life is good.
If someone had been gunning for you in high school, what would have been the things most important to you that they'd have targeted?
I spent a lot of high school worrying way too much over what people thought of me. It took me awhile to understand that the only opinions I should be worried about are my own and the people that matter to me. If someone was gunning for me (then or now) they would go after the people I care about. I am one of those people who will do anything for my friends. Go ahead- make fun of my outfit, but make fun of my friends and look out.
What writing projects are you working on now?
I am working on a new YA that will be out next year around this time. It is a reworking of The Scarlet Letter set in a modern day high school. I'm having so much fun with it! I'm also working on a middle grade series where the main character is a part of a fairy godmother family. The only wish she wants to grant is her own- to be normal. Sadly for her- normal doesn't come too easy.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about this book?
I guarantee this book will make you laugh out loud. A full on- snort Diet Coke up your nose kind of laugh.
For more info, visit Eileen's web site. Or you can stock up on Diet Coke and order the book from Amazon.
You know, when I saw the premise, I immediately went, "Ooooh, it's all my revenge fantasies!" but then when I started thinking about it, I never had anyone really betray me like that. My school was possibly an odd one because our popular girls were popular because they were really nice to people. Our mean girls weren't popular. I may not have been BFF with the popular girls, but they weren't mean to me (I was actually "school friends" with the popular girls -- we had a lot of classes together and hung out some at school, though I didn't get invited to their after-school stuff). I was mostly upset with the boys, who all seemed to really enjoy hanging out with me when we were working on our homework but who never considered me as someone they were willing to date. That was the kind of betrayal I felt, where I thought a guy was showing interest in me and that inviting me over to study was a prelude to starting to go out, only to find out he was actually already dating someone else and wasn't the least bit interested in me for anything other than school work. I might have thought about some way of getting back at one of those guys while I was still in high school, but I'm not sure that even then I'd have wanted to actually hurt them. That's the kind of thing where living well is the best revenge, and I got that at class reunions. I know now that I wouldn't have wanted to marry any of those guys, and I was a late bloomer (I think I'm far more attractive in my 40s than I was as a teenager), so it's fun to think that they may not have wanted to date me then, but now I'm way out of their league.
My revenge fantasies tend to be more in the professional realm these days, and even there, it's more of a "living well" scenario, not that I would mind if certain people ended up having torpedoed their own careers by making bad decisions involving me.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Welcomes Back Laurie Faria Stolarz
My effort didn't quite match my ambition yesterday, but I did re-read all I've written so far of that project (aka The Misty Idea) and while I can see some areas where it could be improved, I also still really like the story and the characters. In fact, I was planning to revise as I read, but I got caught up in the story. Today I plan to do the actual revising. It's a cold, gray day, so it will be perfect for curling up under the electric blanket with my laptop.
In the meantime, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest author, Laurie Faria Stolarz, author of Blue is for Nightmares. She's got two new books out. Black is for Beginnings, a graphic novel that tells some of the backstory of the Blue is for Nightmares series, and Deadly Little Lies, the sequel to Deadly Little Secret.
BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS reveals the never-before-seen backstory - and what lies ahead - for the young, spellcasting lovers Stacey and Jacob. Ever since he lost his memory, Jacob hasn't been able to remember Stacey - his own soul mate. He leaves Massachusetts, returning to his childhood home in Colorado, hoping to jog his memory. What he remembers is Kira, his ex-girlfriend. As Jacob works to piece together his past, will there be room for Stacey in his future?
In Deadly Little Secret, Sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. In DEADLY LITTLE LIES, brokenhearted Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.
Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.
I asked Laurie a few questions about her books:
Could you talk us through the process of developing a graphic novel to go with your series? How did this come about, and what was it like writing for a graphic novel, as opposed to a regular novel?
I wanted to try something different. The arcs of the first four books are similar in many respects, and so I wanted to do something new with the series. I felt the series was finished at four books, but readers kept asking me for a fifth. When my editor approached me with the idea of writing a graphic novel, I was very intrigued, because it gave me the opportunity to not only try something new, but to really picture the book as a movie. I have a background in screenwriting and wrote BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS in screenplay format, adding in ideas for illustrations and sidebars. It was an absolute thrill to write, and to have the opportunity to work with an illustrator for these characters and situations I’d created.
Did you already have the backstory of your characters planned before writing the "backstory" book, or was this something that you developed for this project?
The backstories were already created in my mind, though I did add a couple twists to make things more interesting and mysterious.
You've got suggested playlists for your books -- is music a big part of your creative process?
I use music to help get me into a particular mood. I think it can be a useful tool for writing a scene. But, other than that, I find music distracting while I’m writing.
How do the playlists suggested by readers fit with what you had in mind while writing the books?
I choose the winning playlists carefully, based on not only the variety of music, but how much care the reader took to relate the music to a particular scene, and the degree to which the selected song resonates with the scene itself. The winners I’ve selected accomplish all of those things.
What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m currently working on DEADLY LITTLE GAME, the third book in the TOUCH series.
For more info, excerpts, book trailers and playlists, visit Laurie's web site. Or you can get BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS" and DEADLY LITTLE LIES" from Amazon.
In the meantime, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest author, Laurie Faria Stolarz, author of Blue is for Nightmares. She's got two new books out. Black is for Beginnings, a graphic novel that tells some of the backstory of the Blue is for Nightmares series, and Deadly Little Lies, the sequel to Deadly Little Secret.
BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS reveals the never-before-seen backstory - and what lies ahead - for the young, spellcasting lovers Stacey and Jacob. Ever since he lost his memory, Jacob hasn't been able to remember Stacey - his own soul mate. He leaves Massachusetts, returning to his childhood home in Colorado, hoping to jog his memory. What he remembers is Kira, his ex-girlfriend. As Jacob works to piece together his past, will there be room for Stacey in his future?
In Deadly Little Secret, Sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. In DEADLY LITTLE LIES, brokenhearted Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.
Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.
I asked Laurie a few questions about her books:
Could you talk us through the process of developing a graphic novel to go with your series? How did this come about, and what was it like writing for a graphic novel, as opposed to a regular novel?
I wanted to try something different. The arcs of the first four books are similar in many respects, and so I wanted to do something new with the series. I felt the series was finished at four books, but readers kept asking me for a fifth. When my editor approached me with the idea of writing a graphic novel, I was very intrigued, because it gave me the opportunity to not only try something new, but to really picture the book as a movie. I have a background in screenwriting and wrote BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS in screenplay format, adding in ideas for illustrations and sidebars. It was an absolute thrill to write, and to have the opportunity to work with an illustrator for these characters and situations I’d created.
Did you already have the backstory of your characters planned before writing the "backstory" book, or was this something that you developed for this project?
The backstories were already created in my mind, though I did add a couple twists to make things more interesting and mysterious.
You've got suggested playlists for your books -- is music a big part of your creative process?
I use music to help get me into a particular mood. I think it can be a useful tool for writing a scene. But, other than that, I find music distracting while I’m writing.
How do the playlists suggested by readers fit with what you had in mind while writing the books?
I choose the winning playlists carefully, based on not only the variety of music, but how much care the reader took to relate the music to a particular scene, and the degree to which the selected song resonates with the scene itself. The winners I’ve selected accomplish all of those things.
What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m currently working on DEADLY LITTLE GAME, the third book in the TOUCH series.
For more info, excerpts, book trailers and playlists, visit Laurie's web site. Or you can get BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS" and DEADLY LITTLE LIES" from Amazon.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Megan Kelley Hall
I think I've finally got my life more or less back to normal -- just in time to go abnormal all over again. However, I believe I have my agenda for the trip planned out. I just have a few errands to run in preparation, and I need to find a new pair of shoes. My good "fashion" sneakers -- in other words, not big, white running shoes -- have pretty much died. It was one thing when the suede on the outside frayed, but when the holes in the lining at the heel appeared, I knew it was over because that rubs blisters. These were the shoes I bought to celebrate finishing the first draft of Enchanted, Inc., so I suppose they've lived a long, full life. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything quite like them to replace them.
I do have one last bit of business that got shoved aside in all the uproar of last week. I'm late on hosting a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour. So, without further ado, here's the scoop on The Lost Sister by Megan Kelley Hall. It's the follow-up to the book Sisters of Misery.
Maddie Crane is grappling with the disappearance of Cordelia LeClaire, and trying to escape the grasp of The Sisters of Misery—an insidious clique of the school’s most powerful girls, whose pranks have set off a chain of horrific events, and who have Maddie in their sights…
Now in a prestigious boarding school far away from her mysterious hometown of Hawthorne, Massachusetts , Maddie feels free from danger. But when an unmarked envelope arrives at her dorm containing a single ominous tarot card, Maddie realizes with terror that some secrets won’t stay buried. Knowing she must return to Hawthorne—a town still scarred by the evil of the Salem witch trials—Maddie prepares to face the fears of her past...and the wrath of the sister she wronged.
And now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
The Lost Sister picks up where Sisters of Misery left off. It shows what happens when someone is pushed too far and when hazing pranks go wrong. It’s a continuation of Sisters of Misery, in that it’s a modern-day retelling of the Salem Witch hunts. It has a sort of fairytale-esque Gothic appeal and it will keep you up at night due the spooky, supernatural events that take place.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your main character?
I grew up in a town similar to Hawthorne on Boston's North Shore. Everyone from my town who has read SISTERS OF MISERY is convinced that Hawthorne is Marblehead, MA, but it's really not. I took a bunch of towns on the North Shore of Boston and smushed them all together to create Hawthorne.
When I was growing up, I was a lot closer to Maddie in terms of personality than Cordelia. I tried to avoid conflict. I watched fights going on around me, but never really wanted to get involved.
Now, I'm the first person to stand up for someone or something when I think it's wrong or unfair. I'm definitely closer to Cordelia's philosophy of life. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that. I don't hold back. After going through many life altering experiences (premature baby, open heart surgery, strokes, losing partial vision) I've learned that life is precious and NO ONE should have to put up with taking crap from ANYONE. We're only given one life--one chance--so you'd better make the best of it and not let anyone or anything stand in your way.
The clique in your books takes the concept of mean girls to a whole new level. When you were in school, would you have been more likely to be one of the Sisters or one of their victims?
I probably would have been watching in horror on the sidelines (actually, that's what I was doing. Watching all these mean things take place and taking mental notes for the book I would write in the future.) I've never actually witnessed severe physical brutality (although I did play in a field hockey game where one girl bit off the earlobe of another girl -- no lie!), but the psychological and emotional tormenting happens more than most people would like to believe.
Which book (or movie or TV show) has left you wanting to keep the lights on all night after reading (or watching) it?
Wow, there aren't many, because I'm a huge fan of scary movies and books. I hate slasher flicks. I'm definitely more of a psychological thriller fan. The Shining has always freaked me out. The Strangers with Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler REALLY freaked me out. Just picturing that guy standing in the background while Liv Tyler waits for Scott Speedman to return gives me the chills. The Blair Witch Project gave me nightmares the first time I saw it. And I simply CANNOT watch or read anything about aliens. I think that might have to do with watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind at a very young age.
What has been your favorite summer vacation ever?
I spent three weeks on the French Riviera, which was totally wasted on a 13 year old, because I was pining away for a lifeguard back home, who clearly had no interest in me. (I still get flutters in my stomach when I hear his name – shhh, don’t tell my husband.). On that trip we visited a medieval town called St. Paul de Vence. We kept running into Tom Hanks and his new bride Rita Wilson. Since the town keeps wrapping around, we kept passing him until the third or so pass, he waved to us and said “Oh, my old friends.” Of course we had to have a picture taken with him.
What are you working on now?
I just finished my third YA novel. It's not a continuation of the SISTERS OF MISERY series (although, I'd love to continue that at some point. Maddie, Cordelia, Finn and I needed a little break from each other.) It's another suspense thriller that is currently being shopped around by my agent and will hopefully be coming to a bookstore near you in the future!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Hmmm... well, I'd like to say that this is my first blog post that I haven't mentioned my unwavering love for Johnny Depp. Whoops...too late. Can't say that anymore. :)
But, seriously, I wrote these books because of the growing trend of bullying. It's absolutely frightening.
THE LOST SISTER and SISTERS OF MISERY are about mean girls, bullying and hazing. Today, almost 6,000,000 kids, nearly 30% of all children, are either bullied or are doing the bullying in this country. Now, for the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics is stepping in with recommendations and tips to help all involved. There are several current news stories about the subject: the hazing at Miss Porter’s, cyberbullying and a recent study out of the University of Maine stating that 50% of college students admit to enduring some form of hazing in high school.
This type of bullying and hazing is totally unacceptable and frighteningly common, which is why I highlighted it in my books. I'd love to talk to teens about the issues surrounding bullying, because the repercussions are far-reaching and serious. No one should be treated poorly. No one should be made to feel bad about themselves. And sometimes, the worst type of bullying happens among "friends." If there is anything that I would love teens (or all women, for that matter) to take away from these books is that you don't have to put up with being a target for bullying. No one or group is THAT important for you to risk your dignity or your well-being. And if you see it happening to someone else, have the strength to stand up for them. Don't sit on the sidelines and simply be happy that it's not happening to you. Because, guess what, one day it will, especially if you have surrounded yourself with "friends" who can turn on others.
Always surround yourself with people that you respect and who have respect for you. And if you can't find any at your school or your town or in your area, just be patient, because one day, you will find friends that were worth the wait. You don't need a group of people around you to make you feel special. You can be cool and independent and special on your own.
For more info, visit Megan's web site. Or order the book from Amazon.
I do have one last bit of business that got shoved aside in all the uproar of last week. I'm late on hosting a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour. So, without further ado, here's the scoop on The Lost Sister by Megan Kelley Hall. It's the follow-up to the book Sisters of Misery.
Maddie Crane is grappling with the disappearance of Cordelia LeClaire, and trying to escape the grasp of The Sisters of Misery—an insidious clique of the school’s most powerful girls, whose pranks have set off a chain of horrific events, and who have Maddie in their sights…
Now in a prestigious boarding school far away from her mysterious hometown of Hawthorne, Massachusetts , Maddie feels free from danger. But when an unmarked envelope arrives at her dorm containing a single ominous tarot card, Maddie realizes with terror that some secrets won’t stay buried. Knowing she must return to Hawthorne—a town still scarred by the evil of the Salem witch trials—Maddie prepares to face the fears of her past...and the wrath of the sister she wronged.
And now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
The Lost Sister picks up where Sisters of Misery left off. It shows what happens when someone is pushed too far and when hazing pranks go wrong. It’s a continuation of Sisters of Misery, in that it’s a modern-day retelling of the Salem Witch hunts. It has a sort of fairytale-esque Gothic appeal and it will keep you up at night due the spooky, supernatural events that take place.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your main character?
I grew up in a town similar to Hawthorne on Boston's North Shore. Everyone from my town who has read SISTERS OF MISERY is convinced that Hawthorne is Marblehead, MA, but it's really not. I took a bunch of towns on the North Shore of Boston and smushed them all together to create Hawthorne.
When I was growing up, I was a lot closer to Maddie in terms of personality than Cordelia. I tried to avoid conflict. I watched fights going on around me, but never really wanted to get involved.
Now, I'm the first person to stand up for someone or something when I think it's wrong or unfair. I'm definitely closer to Cordelia's philosophy of life. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that. I don't hold back. After going through many life altering experiences (premature baby, open heart surgery, strokes, losing partial vision) I've learned that life is precious and NO ONE should have to put up with taking crap from ANYONE. We're only given one life--one chance--so you'd better make the best of it and not let anyone or anything stand in your way.
The clique in your books takes the concept of mean girls to a whole new level. When you were in school, would you have been more likely to be one of the Sisters or one of their victims?
I probably would have been watching in horror on the sidelines (actually, that's what I was doing. Watching all these mean things take place and taking mental notes for the book I would write in the future.) I've never actually witnessed severe physical brutality (although I did play in a field hockey game where one girl bit off the earlobe of another girl -- no lie!), but the psychological and emotional tormenting happens more than most people would like to believe.
Which book (or movie or TV show) has left you wanting to keep the lights on all night after reading (or watching) it?
Wow, there aren't many, because I'm a huge fan of scary movies and books. I hate slasher flicks. I'm definitely more of a psychological thriller fan. The Shining has always freaked me out. The Strangers with Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler REALLY freaked me out. Just picturing that guy standing in the background while Liv Tyler waits for Scott Speedman to return gives me the chills. The Blair Witch Project gave me nightmares the first time I saw it. And I simply CANNOT watch or read anything about aliens. I think that might have to do with watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind at a very young age.
What has been your favorite summer vacation ever?
I spent three weeks on the French Riviera, which was totally wasted on a 13 year old, because I was pining away for a lifeguard back home, who clearly had no interest in me. (I still get flutters in my stomach when I hear his name – shhh, don’t tell my husband.). On that trip we visited a medieval town called St. Paul de Vence. We kept running into Tom Hanks and his new bride Rita Wilson. Since the town keeps wrapping around, we kept passing him until the third or so pass, he waved to us and said “Oh, my old friends.” Of course we had to have a picture taken with him.
What are you working on now?
I just finished my third YA novel. It's not a continuation of the SISTERS OF MISERY series (although, I'd love to continue that at some point. Maddie, Cordelia, Finn and I needed a little break from each other.) It's another suspense thriller that is currently being shopped around by my agent and will hopefully be coming to a bookstore near you in the future!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Hmmm... well, I'd like to say that this is my first blog post that I haven't mentioned my unwavering love for Johnny Depp. Whoops...too late. Can't say that anymore. :)
But, seriously, I wrote these books because of the growing trend of bullying. It's absolutely frightening.
THE LOST SISTER and SISTERS OF MISERY are about mean girls, bullying and hazing. Today, almost 6,000,000 kids, nearly 30% of all children, are either bullied or are doing the bullying in this country. Now, for the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics is stepping in with recommendations and tips to help all involved. There are several current news stories about the subject: the hazing at Miss Porter’s, cyberbullying and a recent study out of the University of Maine stating that 50% of college students admit to enduring some form of hazing in high school.
This type of bullying and hazing is totally unacceptable and frighteningly common, which is why I highlighted it in my books. I'd love to talk to teens about the issues surrounding bullying, because the repercussions are far-reaching and serious. No one should be treated poorly. No one should be made to feel bad about themselves. And sometimes, the worst type of bullying happens among "friends." If there is anything that I would love teens (or all women, for that matter) to take away from these books is that you don't have to put up with being a target for bullying. No one or group is THAT important for you to risk your dignity or your well-being. And if you see it happening to someone else, have the strength to stand up for them. Don't sit on the sidelines and simply be happy that it's not happening to you. Because, guess what, one day it will, especially if you have surrounded yourself with "friends" who can turn on others.
Always surround yourself with people that you respect and who have respect for you. And if you can't find any at your school or your town or in your area, just be patient, because one day, you will find friends that were worth the wait. You don't need a group of people around you to make you feel special. You can be cool and independent and special on your own.
For more info, visit Megan's web site. Or order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Stephanie Kuehnert
I finally got a good swim with no interruptions or irritations, and it was heavenly. I swam some laps, then splashed and lounged around in the pool, swam some more laps, did a little water jogging, practiced some ballet jumps in the water, swam a little more and then finally got out of the water when my fingers got all wrinkly. Then I spent about five minutes in the hot tub. The really fun thing is that I went to the pool a little earlier than normal because it was empty and I couldn't wait, and it was one of those cloudless, sunny days. Then less than an hour after I went inside, it was so dark that I had to turn on a light. A storm that hadn't been forecast at all, not even as recently as the noon news, had blown in. I feel like I outsmarted Murphy's Law because if I'd waited for my usual swimming time, it would have been too nasty to hit the pool. And now my shoulder is feeling much, much better from the water exercise. Now, if I could just learn good posture, this wouldn't be a problem. It will help when ballet starts again next week.
But enough about my swimming pool dramas. I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest author today, Stephanie Kuehnert, author of the new book Ballads of Suburbia.
In high school, Kara McNaughton helped maintain the "Stories of Suburbia" notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over, as well as personal vignettes written by her friends,which Kara dubbed "ballads." Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara likes best.
Not the clichéd ones but the truly genuine, gut-wrenching songs that convey love, loss and an individual’s story. Those "stories of Suburbia" were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year of high school.
Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends’ "ballads" interspersed throughout.
Now, the interview:
What was the inspiration behind this story?
I grew up in the suburbs and saw firsthand that it was not all white picket fences and happy families. I'd wanted to write a book about it since I was a teenager, but I struggled when it came to the approach to take. I didn't want to write about my life. Inspiration hit when one of my college professors brought a Johnny Cash CD to class and talked to us about ballads as a form of storytelling. I got the idea for this notebook, where the characters in my story would write their ballads, their incredibly honest tales of the moment that changed their lives. When I started writing the ballads, I met such unique, real people that I didn't even have to worry about accidentally borrowing from my real life.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your main character?
Kara and I do still have a lot in common even though I went out of my way to make the book fiction, not autobiography. We both struggled with making friends and were really shy. We both grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. We both love the Chicago White Sox, PJ Harvey, and have a weakness for boys with tattoos. We both lost our way for awhile in high school. We both coped with depression by injuring ourselves.
Are you a fan of ballads, yourself? If so, what are some of your favorites?
I am, though I don't necessarily think of ballads the way most people do. As Kara puts it, I'm not talking about the song where the diva hits her highest note or the rockers tone it down a few notches for the ladies. (Though I do love "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, total guilty pleasure.) I think of country crooners and punk rockers telling the real, honest, gritty truth about life, love, and how we always seem to mess it up. By that definition, my favorite ballads include "Story of My Life" by Social Distortion, "The Young Crazed Peeling" by The Distillers, "Coal Miner's Daughter" by Loretta Lynn, and "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash. Hell, basically anything by Johnny Cash. Also I adore the song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." I love the Leadbelly version, the Nirvana version. I love that there are so many versions!
This book deals with some serious subjects, including drug abuse, violence and cutting. Do you have any suggestions for parents who'd like to discuss this book with their teens?
Read it first, then suggest your teen read it if you feel it is appropriate. Talk about the different character's ballads and ask your teen what their ballad would be. But also share, tell them your ballad, tell them which characters you related to. Be honest. Nothing pissed me off more than for my dad to act like he'd never done a bad thing in his life when I was 14 and then to casually tell me at 21 about his hallucinogenic drug experiences!
What has been your favorite summer vacation ever?
Last summer when my first book, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, came out, I decided that even though my publisher wasn't putting me on tour, I would go. So my fiance and I flew out to LA and hung out there for a couple days, then we drove up the PCH to San Francisco, stopping in Monterey for day to read with another author, Kelly Parra. We hung out with a good friend in San Fran and then flew to Seattle, my absolute favorite city and we stayed with one of my best friends from high school and her partner and their daughter. Good people, beautiful sights. Best two weeks of my life!
What are you working on now?
Um a bunch of different things. I'm in that place right now where I've got a bunch of different stories fighting to see which will get my fullest attention first. There's another contemporary YA, this one about a girl searching for her real home with her bipolar friend. I've been toying with my version of the Persephone myth forever. And I have this post-apocalyptic story that was born from a dream.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Um this book was really, really hard to write. Like multiple nervous breakdowns hard. But it was that way because I wanted it to be as real as possible and really bring the characters to life. I hope I succeeded.
For more info, visit Stephanie's web site. She's also having a blog launch party with guest bloggers and prizes through August 14 at her blog. You can also order the book from Amazon.
But enough about my swimming pool dramas. I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest author today, Stephanie Kuehnert, author of the new book Ballads of Suburbia.
In high school, Kara McNaughton helped maintain the "Stories of Suburbia" notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over, as well as personal vignettes written by her friends,which Kara dubbed "ballads." Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara likes best.
Not the clichéd ones but the truly genuine, gut-wrenching songs that convey love, loss and an individual’s story. Those "stories of Suburbia" were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year of high school.
Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends’ "ballads" interspersed throughout.
Now, the interview:
What was the inspiration behind this story?
I grew up in the suburbs and saw firsthand that it was not all white picket fences and happy families. I'd wanted to write a book about it since I was a teenager, but I struggled when it came to the approach to take. I didn't want to write about my life. Inspiration hit when one of my college professors brought a Johnny Cash CD to class and talked to us about ballads as a form of storytelling. I got the idea for this notebook, where the characters in my story would write their ballads, their incredibly honest tales of the moment that changed their lives. When I started writing the ballads, I met such unique, real people that I didn't even have to worry about accidentally borrowing from my real life.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your main character?
Kara and I do still have a lot in common even though I went out of my way to make the book fiction, not autobiography. We both struggled with making friends and were really shy. We both grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. We both love the Chicago White Sox, PJ Harvey, and have a weakness for boys with tattoos. We both lost our way for awhile in high school. We both coped with depression by injuring ourselves.
Are you a fan of ballads, yourself? If so, what are some of your favorites?
I am, though I don't necessarily think of ballads the way most people do. As Kara puts it, I'm not talking about the song where the diva hits her highest note or the rockers tone it down a few notches for the ladies. (Though I do love "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, total guilty pleasure.) I think of country crooners and punk rockers telling the real, honest, gritty truth about life, love, and how we always seem to mess it up. By that definition, my favorite ballads include "Story of My Life" by Social Distortion, "The Young Crazed Peeling" by The Distillers, "Coal Miner's Daughter" by Loretta Lynn, and "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash. Hell, basically anything by Johnny Cash. Also I adore the song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." I love the Leadbelly version, the Nirvana version. I love that there are so many versions!
This book deals with some serious subjects, including drug abuse, violence and cutting. Do you have any suggestions for parents who'd like to discuss this book with their teens?
Read it first, then suggest your teen read it if you feel it is appropriate. Talk about the different character's ballads and ask your teen what their ballad would be. But also share, tell them your ballad, tell them which characters you related to. Be honest. Nothing pissed me off more than for my dad to act like he'd never done a bad thing in his life when I was 14 and then to casually tell me at 21 about his hallucinogenic drug experiences!
What has been your favorite summer vacation ever?
Last summer when my first book, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, came out, I decided that even though my publisher wasn't putting me on tour, I would go. So my fiance and I flew out to LA and hung out there for a couple days, then we drove up the PCH to San Francisco, stopping in Monterey for day to read with another author, Kelly Parra. We hung out with a good friend in San Fran and then flew to Seattle, my absolute favorite city and we stayed with one of my best friends from high school and her partner and their daughter. Good people, beautiful sights. Best two weeks of my life!
What are you working on now?
Um a bunch of different things. I'm in that place right now where I've got a bunch of different stories fighting to see which will get my fullest attention first. There's another contemporary YA, this one about a girl searching for her real home with her bipolar friend. I've been toying with my version of the Persephone myth forever. And I have this post-apocalyptic story that was born from a dream.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Um this book was really, really hard to write. Like multiple nervous breakdowns hard. But it was that way because I wanted it to be as real as possible and really bring the characters to life. I hope I succeeded.
For more info, visit Stephanie's web site. She's also having a blog launch party with guest bloggers and prizes through August 14 at her blog. You can also order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Welcomes Jennifer Banash
I did get to the end of the book yesterday! Now all that's left is to give the book one last read-through. I'm checking my agent's schedule to see if she wants it right away or won't be able to look at it for a while, and that will determine whether I do that last pass this week or wait until next week. The longer it rests between passes, the better.
The night after I finish a project is usually kind of weird. I feel like I'm at loose ends. I have things I could be doing, but it feels weird to be doing them without that project looming over me.
Then I had a really odd dream last night that combined Torchwood, NCIS, Primeval, Stargate and Ashes to Ashes. And it worked (mostly it involved characters from NCIS, Primeval and Ashes to Ashes being on an SG team that had to deal with something from Torchwood, and I was Alex Drake from Ashes to Ashes). If I had time for fanfic, I'd be seriously tempted to write it.
But enough about my scary subconscious. I've got a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit author guest today, Jennifer Banash, author of the Elite series. The latest (and last) book in that series, Simply Irresistible, came out this week.
This new book brings us more adventures from the spoiled, rich teens in Manhattan who nearly ate Casey McCloy alive when she first arrived in the Big Apple from her small town of Normal, Illinois. Casey learned very quickly after she moved in with her grandmother at The Bramford, the most exclusive luxury apartment building on New York’s Upper East Side, and got into the prestigious Meadowlark Academy on a full scholarship, that it’s not who you are but who you know!
Casey has had a big city-haute makeover, courtesy of her classmate and neighbor Madison Macallister – part teen icon and part queen diva-bitch. Wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people, has given Casey the look and the attitude – she’s “in” and loving it! Much to Madison’s dismay, her rival is climbing up the social ladder in a big way and could end up just as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own TV reality show, “De-Luxe.” Yes, showbiz came knocking on two of The Bramford’s most illustrious doors and, as much as Madison thrives on the attention the show brings, she’s not thrilled about having every bit of her life of privilege caught on tape. However, fame comes at a price and Madison is one chick who is willing to pay anything…especially if it means becoming the next reality “it girl.” Casey, on the other hand, is realizing that Reality TV can sometimes be unreal, causing her to wonder if she even knows who she is anymore. With her relationship with Drew, Madison’s ex, currently more off than on, she can’t help wondering if everything i n her life is really just an illusion – and how much longer the illusion can last….
Now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
Reality TV! I'm obsessed with it, and I knew that I wanted the girls to eventually have their own reality series, so when the opportunity came up in the last book, IN TOO DEEP, I ran with it!
Have you seen the NYC Prep Bravo series? How does it compare to the reality series you created for your book?
It made me think that I hadn't gone far ENOUGH. But, honestly, these are the most unlikeable teenagers I've ever had the displeasure of watching on television. Those kids have absolutely no heart, or sense of morality, as far as I can tell. And, worse yet, they represent the very worse of NYC snobbery, elitism, and consumer gluttony. I watch the show, but it's not even a guilty pleasure--it just makes me feel guilty period!
What was your best summer vacation ever, and why?
Paris. I try to go every summer, but, alas, not this summer. I just love it there. I have a lot of French friends, and it's the perfect place to write--the French really respect writers--we're not seen as degenerates without day jobs!
(Hey, I'm a degenerate! Cool!)
What are you working on now?
I'm working on a novel called WHITE LINES, which is loosely based on my experiences as a club kid in NYC in the late eighties.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Buy it! The entire ELITE series is an amazing, throw in your tote bag summer read!
For more info, check out the Elite series web site. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
The night after I finish a project is usually kind of weird. I feel like I'm at loose ends. I have things I could be doing, but it feels weird to be doing them without that project looming over me.
Then I had a really odd dream last night that combined Torchwood, NCIS, Primeval, Stargate and Ashes to Ashes. And it worked (mostly it involved characters from NCIS, Primeval and Ashes to Ashes being on an SG team that had to deal with something from Torchwood, and I was Alex Drake from Ashes to Ashes). If I had time for fanfic, I'd be seriously tempted to write it.
But enough about my scary subconscious. I've got a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit author guest today, Jennifer Banash, author of the Elite series. The latest (and last) book in that series, Simply Irresistible, came out this week.
This new book brings us more adventures from the spoiled, rich teens in Manhattan who nearly ate Casey McCloy alive when she first arrived in the Big Apple from her small town of Normal, Illinois. Casey learned very quickly after she moved in with her grandmother at The Bramford, the most exclusive luxury apartment building on New York’s Upper East Side, and got into the prestigious Meadowlark Academy on a full scholarship, that it’s not who you are but who you know!
Casey has had a big city-haute makeover, courtesy of her classmate and neighbor Madison Macallister – part teen icon and part queen diva-bitch. Wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people, has given Casey the look and the attitude – she’s “in” and loving it! Much to Madison’s dismay, her rival is climbing up the social ladder in a big way and could end up just as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own TV reality show, “De-Luxe.” Yes, showbiz came knocking on two of The Bramford’s most illustrious doors and, as much as Madison thrives on the attention the show brings, she’s not thrilled about having every bit of her life of privilege caught on tape. However, fame comes at a price and Madison is one chick who is willing to pay anything…especially if it means becoming the next reality “it girl.” Casey, on the other hand, is realizing that Reality TV can sometimes be unreal, causing her to wonder if she even knows who she is anymore. With her relationship with Drew, Madison’s ex, currently more off than on, she can’t help wondering if everything i n her life is really just an illusion – and how much longer the illusion can last….
Now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
Reality TV! I'm obsessed with it, and I knew that I wanted the girls to eventually have their own reality series, so when the opportunity came up in the last book, IN TOO DEEP, I ran with it!
Have you seen the NYC Prep Bravo series? How does it compare to the reality series you created for your book?
It made me think that I hadn't gone far ENOUGH. But, honestly, these are the most unlikeable teenagers I've ever had the displeasure of watching on television. Those kids have absolutely no heart, or sense of morality, as far as I can tell. And, worse yet, they represent the very worse of NYC snobbery, elitism, and consumer gluttony. I watch the show, but it's not even a guilty pleasure--it just makes me feel guilty period!
What was your best summer vacation ever, and why?
Paris. I try to go every summer, but, alas, not this summer. I just love it there. I have a lot of French friends, and it's the perfect place to write--the French really respect writers--we're not seen as degenerates without day jobs!
(Hey, I'm a degenerate! Cool!)
What are you working on now?
I'm working on a novel called WHITE LINES, which is loosely based on my experiences as a club kid in NYC in the late eighties.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Buy it! The entire ELITE series is an amazing, throw in your tote bag summer read!
For more info, check out the Elite series web site. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Melissa Walker
I managed to lose more than 2,000 words while still making lots of progress, so I think yesterday came out ahead, in a sense. Just remember, thinking is your friend. And I got what I think is a potentially brilliant story idea last night that I will have to let the subconscious creative squirrel play with while I finish the current project.
In the meantime, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Melissa Walker, author of Lovestruck Summer. Quinn is an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas, for a music internship. She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts--and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name “Party Penny.” Their personalities clash, big time.
But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend cute, All-American Russ and his Texas twang?
Sebastian is the kind of guy Quinn wants, but is Russ the guy Quinn needs? One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
A trip to Austin--with it's blasts of heat, amazing live music and colorful characters--totally inspired me to set a romance there.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the main character of this book?
Quinn can be judgmental of people when she first meets them, but she's trying to be more open. (Me too.)
Did you get to visit Austin to research the setting for this book? If so, what were some of the "hot spots" you'd recommend for people who travel there and want to experience the world of the book?
I did! I recommend: The Continental (old school country music bar), Barton Springs (natural spring pond to swim in), Iron Works (amazing barbecue!), and the Four Seasons Hotel lawn, to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.
(Here's where I have to confess what a loser I am. I went to college in Austin and lived there four years, and yet I've only done one of those things. I have gone to Barton Springs, once, and got a terrible sunburn. But I've never seen the bats and I didn't go to any bars or clubs. I managed to avoid the "Austin live music scene" entirely, unless you count classical and jazz concerts at the university. Sad, huh?)
When you were a teen, what would your ideal summer internship have been?
At a magazine. And I got to do it! Dream come true.
What are you working on now?
A new book, but it's a secret so far!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
For a chance to win Lovestruck Summer, plus 3 other great beach reads, your readers can go to this site.
For more info, visit Melissa's web site. Or you can buy the book from Amazon.
In the meantime, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Melissa Walker, author of Lovestruck Summer. Quinn is an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas, for a music internship. She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts--and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name “Party Penny.” Their personalities clash, big time.
But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend cute, All-American Russ and his Texas twang?
Sebastian is the kind of guy Quinn wants, but is Russ the guy Quinn needs? One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
A trip to Austin--with it's blasts of heat, amazing live music and colorful characters--totally inspired me to set a romance there.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the main character of this book?
Quinn can be judgmental of people when she first meets them, but she's trying to be more open. (Me too.)
Did you get to visit Austin to research the setting for this book? If so, what were some of the "hot spots" you'd recommend for people who travel there and want to experience the world of the book?
I did! I recommend: The Continental (old school country music bar), Barton Springs (natural spring pond to swim in), Iron Works (amazing barbecue!), and the Four Seasons Hotel lawn, to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.
(Here's where I have to confess what a loser I am. I went to college in Austin and lived there four years, and yet I've only done one of those things. I have gone to Barton Springs, once, and got a terrible sunburn. But I've never seen the bats and I didn't go to any bars or clubs. I managed to avoid the "Austin live music scene" entirely, unless you count classical and jazz concerts at the university. Sad, huh?)
When you were a teen, what would your ideal summer internship have been?
At a magazine. And I got to do it! Dream come true.
What are you working on now?
A new book, but it's a secret so far!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
For a chance to win Lovestruck Summer, plus 3 other great beach reads, your readers can go to this site.
For more info, visit Melissa's web site. Or you can buy the book from Amazon.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Lucienne Diver
Last night my quest in ballet was to hold my arms correctly, something I usually fail to do and which takes great effort and thought. That left my upper arms achy in such a way that it feels like someone is grabbing me. And that meant lots of freaky nightmares about being grabbed -- made even freakier by waking up and still feeling like I was being grabbed, so that there was a brief moment of panic before I verified that I simply had sore muscles.
Meanwhile, now that I've rewritten parts of the first two chapters to make them more interesting, I've realized that these changes more or less negate almost everything else I already had written, so that it will actually be easier to just scrap it all and start from scratch. And that means I'm really, really far behind because not only has progress been slower than planned while I've tinkered with getting the opening right, but my progress goals were based on starting from having five chapters already written. Needless to say, it looks like I'll be working this weekend.
But on a much more fun note, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Guest, and this one is a real treat because the author has been one of those people I hang out with at writing conferences and conventions for ages and ages. And I still like her even though she rejected me under her agent role (though we share an agent when she's in author mode). My guest is Lucienne Diver, author of Vamped, and although I am so not into vampires, I've thought this book sounded like a hoot from the moment I heard about it, so I may have to make an exception.
From “Valley Vamp Rules for Surviving Your Senior Prom” by VAMPED heroine Gina Covello:
Rule #1:
Do not get so loaded at the after prom party that you accidentally-on-purpose end up in the broom closet with the surprise hottie of the evening, say the class chess champ who’s somewhere lost his bottle-cap lenses and undergone an extreme makeover, especially if that makeover has anything to do with becoming one of the undead.
Gina Covello has a problem. Waking up a dead is just the beginning. There's very little she can't put up with for the sake of eternal youth and beauty. Blood-sucking and pointy stick phobias seem a small price to pay. But she draws the line when local vampire vixen Mellisande gets designs on her hot new boyfriend with his prophecied powers and hatches a plot to turn all of Gina’s fellow students into an undead army to be used to overthrow the vampire council.
Hey, if anyone's going to create an undead entourage, it should be Gina! Now she must unselfishly save her classmates from fashion disaster and her own fanged fate.
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
My heroine, Gina, just started talking in my head one day. I’m not sure how it happened, especially when I realized that she was essentially the big-haired girl with the reputation who tormented my sister in high school. So I tormented her right back. What’s true horror for a fashionista? Lack of reflection, no way to fix your hair and make-up, eternity without tanning options! At first I was just going to give Gina a short story to get her out of my head – let her claw her own way out of the grave, face her fears and turn her stylist…or die (again) trying. Then Gina got her claws into me. My readers liked her. “This wants to be a novel,” they said. And, well, they were right. So, Gina had to grow and change into someone I could live with for two hundred plus pages. She’s still a fashionista determined not to go through eternity a total schlub, but underneath it all is a heart she’s been hiding for her own protection, and it’s slowly revealed over the course of the story.
How much -- if anything -- do you have in common with your heroine?
I like clothes. I’ve object to being seen as a total schlub. I sort of had the Mafia princess look cooking for me in high school. [Note, see totally embarrassing picture I’ve attached.] However, I was a geek girl. I played D&D, got caught reading library books in class, had to date outside my high school. Actually, the character I have the most in common with in the novel is the blond book girl Gina pumps for information.
(You know, I think we have the makings for a new horror film: It Came from the 80s! I have plenty of my own material to contribute.)
Why do you think vampires are so popular in young adult fiction right now?
And adult fiction as well! I think it’s because vampires are sexy. They’re the ultimate bad boys (or girls). You want to piss off your parents? Try bringing home a bloodsucker!
(Hmm, maybe that explains why I never got the appeal of vampires. I never wanted to piss off my parents.)
Vampires vs. Zombies: Who wins? And who wins homecoming queen?
Vampires, hands down! Zombies…bah! They’re decomposing as we speak. So easy to rip off an arm or a leg and beat them with it…I’m just saying! Not that I’ve fought off a zombie invasion above once or twice in my life, but I think that’s a fair sampling. As for homecoming queen, Gina‘s got that in the bag!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a middle-grade boy-book that’s been talking at me since a trip to NYC last fall. I was deep in the midst of REVAMPED (VAMPED sequel which will be out in 2010) at the time, and so I had to wait until just recently to start. I’m having a lot of fun with it because I get to bring in some archaeology and history. Plus the protagonist is only a little older than my son, so I get to use him as a litmus test for the voice!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book and the process of writing it?
Just that I really hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. VAMPED was a trip, and Gina is probably my favorite character I’ve ever written. Every time I came to a difficult scene to write, like an action scene, I felt as if the character actually kicked me out of the way with a, “Would you let me handle this?” And she did. In some ways it was a hard book to write because I had to wrestle it back from Gina, who, if you can’t tell by now, is one tough cookie. In others, it was the easiest thing I’ve ever written because all I had to do was get out of my own way and let my protagonist take point.
For more info (and to see a more current, less frightening author photo), check out Lucienne's web site or order the book from Amazon.
Meanwhile, now that I've rewritten parts of the first two chapters to make them more interesting, I've realized that these changes more or less negate almost everything else I already had written, so that it will actually be easier to just scrap it all and start from scratch. And that means I'm really, really far behind because not only has progress been slower than planned while I've tinkered with getting the opening right, but my progress goals were based on starting from having five chapters already written. Needless to say, it looks like I'll be working this weekend.
But on a much more fun note, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Guest, and this one is a real treat because the author has been one of those people I hang out with at writing conferences and conventions for ages and ages. And I still like her even though she rejected me under her agent role (though we share an agent when she's in author mode). My guest is Lucienne Diver, author of Vamped, and although I am so not into vampires, I've thought this book sounded like a hoot from the moment I heard about it, so I may have to make an exception.
From “Valley Vamp Rules for Surviving Your Senior Prom” by VAMPED heroine Gina Covello:
Rule #1:
Do not get so loaded at the after prom party that you accidentally-on-purpose end up in the broom closet with the surprise hottie of the evening, say the class chess champ who’s somewhere lost his bottle-cap lenses and undergone an extreme makeover, especially if that makeover has anything to do with becoming one of the undead.
Gina Covello has a problem. Waking up a dead is just the beginning. There's very little she can't put up with for the sake of eternal youth and beauty. Blood-sucking and pointy stick phobias seem a small price to pay. But she draws the line when local vampire vixen Mellisande gets designs on her hot new boyfriend with his prophecied powers and hatches a plot to turn all of Gina’s fellow students into an undead army to be used to overthrow the vampire council.
Hey, if anyone's going to create an undead entourage, it should be Gina! Now she must unselfishly save her classmates from fashion disaster and her own fanged fate.
Now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
My heroine, Gina, just started talking in my head one day. I’m not sure how it happened, especially when I realized that she was essentially the big-haired girl with the reputation who tormented my sister in high school. So I tormented her right back. What’s true horror for a fashionista? Lack of reflection, no way to fix your hair and make-up, eternity without tanning options! At first I was just going to give Gina a short story to get her out of my head – let her claw her own way out of the grave, face her fears and turn her stylist…or die (again) trying. Then Gina got her claws into me. My readers liked her. “This wants to be a novel,” they said. And, well, they were right. So, Gina had to grow and change into someone I could live with for two hundred plus pages. She’s still a fashionista determined not to go through eternity a total schlub, but underneath it all is a heart she’s been hiding for her own protection, and it’s slowly revealed over the course of the story.
How much -- if anything -- do you have in common with your heroine?
I like clothes. I’ve object to being seen as a total schlub. I sort of had the Mafia princess look cooking for me in high school. [Note, see totally embarrassing picture I’ve attached.] However, I was a geek girl. I played D&D, got caught reading library books in class, had to date outside my high school
(You know, I think we have the makings for a new horror film: It Came from the 80s! I have plenty of my own material to contribute.)
Why do you think vampires are so popular in young adult fiction right now?
And adult fiction as well! I think it’s because vampires are sexy. They’re the ultimate bad boys (or girls). You want to piss off your parents? Try bringing home a bloodsucker!
(Hmm, maybe that explains why I never got the appeal of vampires. I never wanted to piss off my parents.)
Vampires vs. Zombies: Who wins? And who wins homecoming queen?
Vampires, hands down! Zombies…bah! They’re decomposing as we speak. So easy to rip off an arm or a leg and beat them with it…I’m just saying! Not that I’ve fought off a zombie invasion above once or twice in my life, but I think that’s a fair sampling. As for homecoming queen, Gina‘s got that in the bag!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a middle-grade boy-book that’s been talking at me since a trip to NYC last fall. I was deep in the midst of REVAMPED (VAMPED sequel which will be out in 2010) at the time, and so I had to wait until just recently to start. I’m having a lot of fun with it because I get to bring in some archaeology and history. Plus the protagonist is only a little older than my son, so I get to use him as a litmus test for the voice!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book and the process of writing it?
Just that I really hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. VAMPED was a trip, and Gina is probably my favorite character I’ve ever written. Every time I came to a difficult scene to write, like an action scene, I felt as if the character actually kicked me out of the way with a, “Would you let me handle this?” And she did. In some ways it was a hard book to write because I had to wrestle it back from Gina, who, if you can’t tell by now, is one tough cookie. In others, it was the easiest thing I’ve ever written because all I had to do was get out of my own way and let my protagonist take point.
For more info (and to see a more current, less frightening author photo), check out Lucienne's web site or order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Linda Gerber
I am actually ahead of schedule! I had planned to send the partial of the current project to my agent for a sanity check tomorrow, but it's pretty much ready to go now. I'll still wait to send tomorrow because that's when I told her I would, and that gives me a chance to give it one more look. I'm kind of eager to get started on the next thing, so I'm wavering between letting myself have a minor celebration and jumping right in. I think I can do a little of both by doing a mini "retreat" to shift mental gears and get revved up. That means finding a movie that makes me think of this story and then doing a little reference reading.
Meanwhile, I have another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Linda Gerber, whose new novel Death by Denim will be released May 14. This is the third "Death By" young adult mystery novel.
Aphra Connolly is being chased by some very dangerous people. She knows her survival depends upon staying far away from love interest Seth, and listening to her mom’s lectures on the finer points of anonymity and survival. But how is a girl supposed to live under the radar and not think about her boyfriend when she’s in Paris—the most romantic city in the world? When her mom’s contact in Paris is found floating in the Seine with a deadly message stuffed in his mouth, Aphra realizes that she will never be able to stop running unless she confronts the situation head-on. Sneaking away from her mom, Aphra tracks down the criminal mastermind in Italy, only to unwittingly reveal Seth’s location. And her mistake has just put them both in mortal danger. . . .
Now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
Since Death by Denim is the third in the series, the inspiration was drawn mostly from the first two books. By book three, my character Aphra had a few issues to settle - her relationship with her mom, her relationship with Seth, and the constant threat of the Mole on her tail. Those things led the story as it evolved.
When you were a teen, how might you have coped with international intrigue?
I've always loved suspense and thriller novels and movies, so I think I might have enthusiastically embraced the adventure. I mean, I grew up in a relatively small town - a college town in a place we used to call Happy Valley - so we seldom saw much in the way of intrigue. I think I would rushed headlong into any escapade - just to shake things up a little.
Who was your favorite "girl sleuth" to read about when you were a kid/teen?
I had a complete set of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books. I also loved spy/sleuth stories like Harriet the Spy and From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
(Hmm, sounds like we were reading the same things!)
What are you working on now?
I'm switching gears with a YA paranormal about trance writing sisters.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I've had a lot of fun working on the entire series, but I have to say, Death by Denim is probably my favorite to write because I got to go international with it and to throw things at Aphra that she hadn't faced before. And as a bonus, by the time I was hammering through revisions on this one, Death by Bikini had been released and I was starting to get letters from enthusiastic readers who were looking forward to reading more. It gave me a real boost of confidence - which I needed during some of the more intense scenes. So, THANK YOU, readers, for your support!
For more info, check out Linda's web site. She'll be hosting a blog book launch party May 14-16. You can also pre-order the book from Amazon.
Meanwhile, I have another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Linda Gerber, whose new novel Death by Denim will be released May 14. This is the third "Death By" young adult mystery novel.
Aphra Connolly is being chased by some very dangerous people. She knows her survival depends upon staying far away from love interest Seth, and listening to her mom’s lectures on the finer points of anonymity and survival. But how is a girl supposed to live under the radar and not think about her boyfriend when she’s in Paris—the most romantic city in the world? When her mom’s contact in Paris is found floating in the Seine with a deadly message stuffed in his mouth, Aphra realizes that she will never be able to stop running unless she confronts the situation head-on. Sneaking away from her mom, Aphra tracks down the criminal mastermind in Italy, only to unwittingly reveal Seth’s location. And her mistake has just put them both in mortal danger. . . .
Now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this story?
Since Death by Denim is the third in the series, the inspiration was drawn mostly from the first two books. By book three, my character Aphra had a few issues to settle - her relationship with her mom, her relationship with Seth, and the constant threat of the Mole on her tail. Those things led the story as it evolved.
When you were a teen, how might you have coped with international intrigue?
I've always loved suspense and thriller novels and movies, so I think I might have enthusiastically embraced the adventure. I mean, I grew up in a relatively small town - a college town in a place we used to call Happy Valley - so we seldom saw much in the way of intrigue. I think I would rushed headlong into any escapade - just to shake things up a little.
Who was your favorite "girl sleuth" to read about when you were a kid/teen?
I had a complete set of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books. I also loved spy/sleuth stories like Harriet the Spy and From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
(Hmm, sounds like we were reading the same things!)
What are you working on now?
I'm switching gears with a YA paranormal about trance writing sisters.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I've had a lot of fun working on the entire series, but I have to say, Death by Denim is probably my favorite to write because I got to go international with it and to throw things at Aphra that she hadn't faced before. And as a bonus, by the time I was hammering through revisions on this one, Death by Bikini had been released and I was starting to get letters from enthusiastic readers who were looking forward to reading more. It gave me a real boost of confidence - which I needed during some of the more intense scenes. So, THANK YOU, readers, for your support!
For more info, check out Linda's web site. She'll be hosting a blog book launch party May 14-16. You can also pre-order the book from Amazon.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Looks at Judy Blume
The tax nightmare is over for another year! Actually, I don't think it's all that difficult. The time-consuming part is the record keeping because I have bursts of disorganization. However, part of my getting ready for doing taxes this year included catching up on the record keeping and accounting for this year, so if I keep up with that throughout the year, doing the taxes next year should be a snap. And now I have no excuse for not spending a good chunk of the day writing.
One thing I'm discovering is that this book apparently needs Rachmaninoff. I usually write in total silence, but there are books that need music, mostly to drown out the outside world. I don't think I could have written Damsel Under Stress without the soundtracks from Battlestar Galactica and Firefly (even now, a part of my brain thinks it's time to go to work when it hears the opening notes of that BSG prologue -- that part that ran under the "The Cylons were created by man" thing). I've tried a variety of music for this book and have settled on orchestral works by Rachmaninoff (but not the piano concertos -- I can't listen to those and still write). Mostly, it's Symphonic Dances and The Isle of the Dead, but then I found a CD of one of the symphonies that I forgot I had yesterday, and that works, too.
This week's Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book is a fun one because I was part of it. Some of you may remember from a couple of years ago that I participated in a tribute book about the works of Judy Blume. Well, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl, I Learned from Judy Blume came out in paperback this week, so if you're absolutely dying to buy something written by me this year, here's your chance.
Here's the official scoop:
Whether laughing to tears reading Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great or clamoring for more unmistakable “me too!” moments in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, girls all over the world have been touched by Judy Blume’s poignant coming-of-age stories. Now, in this anthology of essays, twenty-four notable female authors write straight from the heart about the unforgettable novels that left an indelible mark on their childhoods and still influence them today. Drawing on their own experiences of feeling like a Fourth Grade Nothing before growing up to become Smart Women themselves, these writers pay tribute, through their reflections and most cherished memories, to one of the most beloved authors of all time.
Contributors include: Megan Cabot, Megan McCafferty, Cara Lockwood,
Melissa Senate, Laura Caldwell, Stacey Ballis, Shanna Swendson and 17 other acclaimed women writers.
I asked Jennifer O'Connell, who pulled together and edited this anthology, a couple of questions about it (and then you'll get my insights).
What inspired you to develop this anthology?
I was about to begin writing my first teen book, PLAN B, and I sat at the computer and thought to myself, "Everything I needed to know about being a girl I learned from Judy Blume." And so the idea for the collection of essays was born. Because I knew I wasn't the only one who felt like that.
Which was your favorite Judy Blume book as a girl? Have you re-read it as an adult, and how has your perception of it changed?
Deenie. I re-read all of Judy's books before editing the essays in the collection, and Deenie was one of them. I still loved it. And, honestly, the story stood the test of time.
(Me again) Oddly, my essay in the book was about Deenie, but that probably wasn't my favorite Judy Blume book (for reasons that become pretty obvious in my essay). I suspect my favorite was Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, though I might have a different take on Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great if I reread it now (it may have hit too close to home then). I wasn't a big reader of "girl" books as a kid, and my Judy Blume phase came in the very brief window between my Nancy Drew obsession and the time I discovered The Lord of the Rings. I first checked these books out of the library because there was some controversy. Word on the playground was that these were "dirty" books about sex. I was skeptical, since they were in the children's section of the library, and being the stubborn, skeptical sort, I had to see for myself. I was pretty disappointed by how non-racy they were. Some of that was because a lot of it went right over my head (I didn't realize what the controversial part of Deenie was actually about until I re-read it for writing my essay) and some of it was because I'd already heard the scientific explanations for a lot of it and thought that these characters were making too big a fuss about everything. I may owe Judy Blume thanks for helping my journey through puberty be so relatively non-dramatic because in comparison to what went on in her books, real life was very low-drama, so reality was easier than I expected.
What really appealed to me about those books (and maybe I should have written about this, but I didn't think of it until later) was the fact that she captured what it was really like to have friends as a girl at that age (or, at least, what it was like for me). So many of the "girl" books paint this idealized vision of true best friends who do everything together and stick together through thick and thin, but in real life girls that age are incredibly competitive, even with their closest friends. The alliances among clusters of friends within groups are always shifting, and there are subtle rivalries going on all the time. It might not be to the level of a real "frenemy" who just pretends to be a friend while undermining you, but there can be a kind of competition under the surface, sometimes over things you can't control, like who starts wearing a bra first. There are times when you can't stand to be around your best friend, times when your best friend can't stand you, times when you find yourself forced to hang out with someone you don't even like because of that -- and then the realization that maybe you like that person better than the person who's supposed to be your best friend. That's the way the girls in the Judy Blume books were, and it was a huge relief to me to read that and see that it wasn't just that I was somehow doing it wrong because I didn't have a "like a sister" best friend where we wore matching outfits and did everything together, like in so many other children's books.
And then soon after that I discovered hobbits and magical wardrobes that led to other worlds and achieved a new kind of social awkwardness.
So, if you want to see what I had to say about Deenie, the girl who was pretty enough to be a model until she found out she had scoliosis, here's the Amazon link.
One thing I'm discovering is that this book apparently needs Rachmaninoff. I usually write in total silence, but there are books that need music, mostly to drown out the outside world. I don't think I could have written Damsel Under Stress without the soundtracks from Battlestar Galactica and Firefly (even now, a part of my brain thinks it's time to go to work when it hears the opening notes of that BSG prologue -- that part that ran under the "The Cylons were created by man" thing). I've tried a variety of music for this book and have settled on orchestral works by Rachmaninoff (but not the piano concertos -- I can't listen to those and still write). Mostly, it's Symphonic Dances and The Isle of the Dead, but then I found a CD of one of the symphonies that I forgot I had yesterday, and that works, too.
This week's Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book is a fun one because I was part of it. Some of you may remember from a couple of years ago that I participated in a tribute book about the works of Judy Blume. Well, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl, I Learned from Judy Blume came out in paperback this week, so if you're absolutely dying to buy something written by me this year, here's your chance.
Here's the official scoop:
Whether laughing to tears reading Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great or clamoring for more unmistakable “me too!” moments in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, girls all over the world have been touched by Judy Blume’s poignant coming-of-age stories. Now, in this anthology of essays, twenty-four notable female authors write straight from the heart about the unforgettable novels that left an indelible mark on their childhoods and still influence them today. Drawing on their own experiences of feeling like a Fourth Grade Nothing before growing up to become Smart Women themselves, these writers pay tribute, through their reflections and most cherished memories, to one of the most beloved authors of all time.
Contributors include: Megan Cabot, Megan McCafferty, Cara Lockwood,
Melissa Senate, Laura Caldwell, Stacey Ballis, Shanna Swendson and 17 other acclaimed women writers.
I asked Jennifer O'Connell, who pulled together and edited this anthology, a couple of questions about it (and then you'll get my insights).
What inspired you to develop this anthology?
I was about to begin writing my first teen book, PLAN B, and I sat at the computer and thought to myself, "Everything I needed to know about being a girl I learned from Judy Blume." And so the idea for the collection of essays was born. Because I knew I wasn't the only one who felt like that.
Which was your favorite Judy Blume book as a girl? Have you re-read it as an adult, and how has your perception of it changed?
Deenie. I re-read all of Judy's books before editing the essays in the collection, and Deenie was one of them. I still loved it. And, honestly, the story stood the test of time.
(Me again) Oddly, my essay in the book was about Deenie, but that probably wasn't my favorite Judy Blume book (for reasons that become pretty obvious in my essay). I suspect my favorite was Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, though I might have a different take on Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great if I reread it now (it may have hit too close to home then). I wasn't a big reader of "girl" books as a kid, and my Judy Blume phase came in the very brief window between my Nancy Drew obsession and the time I discovered The Lord of the Rings. I first checked these books out of the library because there was some controversy. Word on the playground was that these were "dirty" books about sex. I was skeptical, since they were in the children's section of the library, and being the stubborn, skeptical sort, I had to see for myself. I was pretty disappointed by how non-racy they were. Some of that was because a lot of it went right over my head (I didn't realize what the controversial part of Deenie was actually about until I re-read it for writing my essay) and some of it was because I'd already heard the scientific explanations for a lot of it and thought that these characters were making too big a fuss about everything. I may owe Judy Blume thanks for helping my journey through puberty be so relatively non-dramatic because in comparison to what went on in her books, real life was very low-drama, so reality was easier than I expected.
What really appealed to me about those books (and maybe I should have written about this, but I didn't think of it until later) was the fact that she captured what it was really like to have friends as a girl at that age (or, at least, what it was like for me). So many of the "girl" books paint this idealized vision of true best friends who do everything together and stick together through thick and thin, but in real life girls that age are incredibly competitive, even with their closest friends. The alliances among clusters of friends within groups are always shifting, and there are subtle rivalries going on all the time. It might not be to the level of a real "frenemy" who just pretends to be a friend while undermining you, but there can be a kind of competition under the surface, sometimes over things you can't control, like who starts wearing a bra first. There are times when you can't stand to be around your best friend, times when your best friend can't stand you, times when you find yourself forced to hang out with someone you don't even like because of that -- and then the realization that maybe you like that person better than the person who's supposed to be your best friend. That's the way the girls in the Judy Blume books were, and it was a huge relief to me to read that and see that it wasn't just that I was somehow doing it wrong because I didn't have a "like a sister" best friend where we wore matching outfits and did everything together, like in so many other children's books.
And then soon after that I discovered hobbits and magical wardrobes that led to other worlds and achieved a new kind of social awkwardness.
So, if you want to see what I had to say about Deenie, the girl who was pretty enough to be a model until she found out she had scoliosis, here's the Amazon link.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents April Henry
It's really, really windy -- like, Mary Poppins weather. If you had a sturdy enough umbrella, you could probably go places. However, where you went would be entirely out of your control, as the wind doesn't seem to be going in any particular direction. The birds seem to be having to fight it. A little while ago, one was almost stationary in the air while furiously flapping its wings because it was trying to fly against the wind. And then one came by going with the wind, and I'm not sure it meant to be flying. It was just tumbling around. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a small, furry thing go flying by. Or maybe a mean old lady on a bicycle. It's also really, really loud on my roof, with tiles rattling and lots of gusty sounds. In other words, a good day to stay indoors. I'm afraid my little car might go airborne.
If I don't post tomorrow, I may be in Oz. Fortunately, I already have my own pair of ruby red slippers (though they were silver in the book, and I don't have any silver slippers).
While I'm developing my trapped-in-Oz contingency plan, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, April Henry, who writes both adult mysteries and young adult thrillers. Her latest release is the YA thriller Torched.
When Ellie’s parents are busted for growing marijuana, the FBI gives her a choice: infiltrate the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group, or her parents will go to jail. At first Ellie is more than willing to entrap the MEDics, but the more time she spends undercover—particularly with Coyote, the green-eyed MEDic that she can’t stop thinking about—the more she starts to believe in their cause. When talk turns to murder, Coyote backs out, but Ellie is willing to risk everything to save her family—even if it means losing Coyote and putting her own life on the line.
And now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
The Earth Liberation Front has long been active in the Northwest. The FBI considers them domestic terrorists. I was driving to work one morning, listening to the news, and the broadcaster said, “The FBI says they have been unable to infiltrate ELF.” And I thought, what else are they going to say? Yeah, we have someone who is working there undercover? And then I started thinking that most Elves are young, and FBI agents have to be at least 23, and they might need an informant.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your heroine?
Ellie is a little shy, a little uncertain. We have that in common. She is much more creative than I am. I'm kind of jealous.
What do you see as the biggest differences between writing for teens and writing for adults?
The writing itself is not much different. The publshing world is completely different. You have a lot longer to succeed, and the measures of success are completley different. There are no state awards, for example, with adult books, and librarians aren't nearly as important.
Chocolate: milk or dark? (question back by popular demand!)
Dark, dark, dark! Preferably with cashews and sea salt.
(Oh, man, that sounds good!)
What are you working on now?
In 2010 I'll have two books out: an adult mystery called Hand of Fate, and a YA thiller that was to be called Shadows Walking Backward but now is in the process of having its name changed. I'm also working on a new YA thriller called The Girl in the Mini Cooper and another adult mystery called either Blood of Innocents or Heart of Stone.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I have terrible luck with YA titles. Shock Point was originally going to be called Point & Shoot, but then marketing decided it sounded like school violence. Torched was originally called Fire, Kiss, Electric Chair, but they didn't like "electric chair."
For more info, check out April's web site. Or order the book from Amazon.
And now I may have to close my blinds because the movement of the tall ornamental grasses across the street in this wind is making me seasick.
If I don't post tomorrow, I may be in Oz. Fortunately, I already have my own pair of ruby red slippers (though they were silver in the book, and I don't have any silver slippers).
While I'm developing my trapped-in-Oz contingency plan, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, April Henry, who writes both adult mysteries and young adult thrillers. Her latest release is the YA thriller Torched.
When Ellie’s parents are busted for growing marijuana, the FBI gives her a choice: infiltrate the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group, or her parents will go to jail. At first Ellie is more than willing to entrap the MEDics, but the more time she spends undercover—particularly with Coyote, the green-eyed MEDic that she can’t stop thinking about—the more she starts to believe in their cause. When talk turns to murder, Coyote backs out, but Ellie is willing to risk everything to save her family—even if it means losing Coyote and putting her own life on the line.
And now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
The Earth Liberation Front has long been active in the Northwest. The FBI considers them domestic terrorists. I was driving to work one morning, listening to the news, and the broadcaster said, “The FBI says they have been unable to infiltrate ELF.” And I thought, what else are they going to say? Yeah, we have someone who is working there undercover? And then I started thinking that most Elves are young, and FBI agents have to be at least 23, and they might need an informant.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your heroine?
Ellie is a little shy, a little uncertain. We have that in common. She is much more creative than I am. I'm kind of jealous.
What do you see as the biggest differences between writing for teens and writing for adults?
The writing itself is not much different. The publshing world is completely different. You have a lot longer to succeed, and the measures of success are completley different. There are no state awards, for example, with adult books, and librarians aren't nearly as important.
Chocolate: milk or dark? (question back by popular demand!)
Dark, dark, dark! Preferably with cashews and sea salt.
(Oh, man, that sounds good!)
What are you working on now?
In 2010 I'll have two books out: an adult mystery called Hand of Fate, and a YA thiller that was to be called Shadows Walking Backward but now is in the process of having its name changed. I'm also working on a new YA thriller called The Girl in the Mini Cooper and another adult mystery called either Blood of Innocents or Heart of Stone.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I have terrible luck with YA titles. Shock Point was originally going to be called Point & Shoot, but then marketing decided it sounded like school violence. Torched was originally called Fire, Kiss, Electric Chair, but they didn't like "electric chair."
For more info, check out April's web site. Or order the book from Amazon.
And now I may have to close my blinds because the movement of the tall ornamental grasses across the street in this wind is making me seasick.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Jennifer Echols
I was sooo very good yesterday. I didn't get the kitchen cleaned, but I did my radio scripts and got back into The Nagging Idea. It was good to really write again. I think I may need new code names to keep the various projects in progress straight. I don't talk about them by title for several reasons:
1) I often don't come up with a title until I've finished the book
2) the title is likely to change, and talking about it a lot under the working title (if I have one) will make me more emotionally attached to that title
3) if editors are considering a book and research me by looking at my blog, I don't really want them to be able to identify the book they're looking at so they won't be biased by any discussions of the trials and tribulations I went through in writing it
4) I don't want readers to know for sure when a book gets published which books I was talking about when I was writing them, so as to avoid unintentional spoilers or setting expectations
5) I watched way too much of The X-Files and like giving things names like all the bad guy characters -- like Cigarette Smoking Man, etc.
In a tiny news flash, Don't Hex With Texas is a finalist for the Award of Excellence given by the Colorado Romance Writers.
Now, I need to catch up on a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour with Going Too Far, the latest book from Jennifer Echols. All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far… and almost doesn’t make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge—and over…
Now, the interview:
You've previously written comedies, but this sounds like a more serious book. How did you make the transition in subject matter and writing style?
The idea for this book started as a romantic comedy about two teens who get in trouble and have to do a ride-along with a cop to scare them straight. As I thought about this story, I realized that the interesting tension would not be between the two teens. It would be between one teen and the cop, especially if the cop were a teenager himself. I did a little research and discovered there are some places where a 19-year-old can be hired as a law enforcement officer. I've always been interested in the drama that unfolds when very young people are pushed into situations meant for more mature adults, so I was hooked on this idea, and I couldn't turn back just because it was no longer a romantic comedy.
It sounds like you're pushing some boundaries with this book. Was there anything about this story that scared you or made you nervous, or are you naturally a rebel?
I naturally have a huge problem with authority, which is why I'm a novelist. The heroine of this book also has an authority problem. She is definitely my dark side.
The only thing that made me nervous in writing this book was going into detail about what made the heroine who she is. Originally that was not part of the book because I thought it would make readers like the heroine less. But my editor wanted me to go there, and I'm glad I did.
What are you working on now?
I'm going over the copyedit of my next romantic comedy, The Ex Games, which will be published on October 6.
For more info, check out Jennifer's blog. Or buy the book from Amazon.
1) I often don't come up with a title until I've finished the book
2) the title is likely to change, and talking about it a lot under the working title (if I have one) will make me more emotionally attached to that title
3) if editors are considering a book and research me by looking at my blog, I don't really want them to be able to identify the book they're looking at so they won't be biased by any discussions of the trials and tribulations I went through in writing it
4) I don't want readers to know for sure when a book gets published which books I was talking about when I was writing them, so as to avoid unintentional spoilers or setting expectations
5) I watched way too much of The X-Files and like giving things names like all the bad guy characters -- like Cigarette Smoking Man, etc.
In a tiny news flash, Don't Hex With Texas is a finalist for the Award of Excellence given by the Colorado Romance Writers.
Now, I need to catch up on a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour with Going Too Far, the latest book from Jennifer Echols. All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far… and almost doesn’t make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge—and over…
Now, the interview:
You've previously written comedies, but this sounds like a more serious book. How did you make the transition in subject matter and writing style?
The idea for this book started as a romantic comedy about two teens who get in trouble and have to do a ride-along with a cop to scare them straight. As I thought about this story, I realized that the interesting tension would not be between the two teens. It would be between one teen and the cop, especially if the cop were a teenager himself. I did a little research and discovered there are some places where a 19-year-old can be hired as a law enforcement officer. I've always been interested in the drama that unfolds when very young people are pushed into situations meant for more mature adults, so I was hooked on this idea, and I couldn't turn back just because it was no longer a romantic comedy.
It sounds like you're pushing some boundaries with this book. Was there anything about this story that scared you or made you nervous, or are you naturally a rebel?
I naturally have a huge problem with authority, which is why I'm a novelist. The heroine of this book also has an authority problem. She is definitely my dark side.
The only thing that made me nervous in writing this book was going into detail about what made the heroine who she is. Originally that was not part of the book because I thought it would make readers like the heroine less. But my editor wanted me to go there, and I'm glad I did.
What are you working on now?
I'm going over the copyedit of my next romantic comedy, The Ex Games, which will be published on October 6.
For more info, check out Jennifer's blog. Or buy the book from Amazon.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Wants BRAAAIIINNNNSSS
I managed another thousand words yesterday. I think I'm still warming up, but I'm getting more of a feel for the characters. If I'm good today, I may get to the introduction of the other main character, but I'm also getting my hair done today (I realized it had reached my waist again, which is just too much hair to deal with) and I have ballet class tonight, so there's not a lot of writing time.
Since the collective wisdom of my readers never ceases to amaze me, I thought I'd throw this out there and see if anyone has any ideas: I haven't been dancing in far too long, and I'm dying for a foxtrot. Since I'll be in New York next weekend, I figure there has to be something in the ballroom dancing arena going on. I mean, there's pretty much a little of just about everything going on in New York, right? (Or have all those TV shows, books and movies been lying to me?) Does anyone know of any possible ballroom dancing venues in the city where I might be able to show up solo and still manage to dance with someone? I've Googled and found a couple of dance studios that have social dance parties and a dance society that has public dances at a church. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for, as opposed to an actual nightclub or music venue where people are more likely to go with dates, so I thought I'd check to see if anyone knew of anything else or had something good to recommend.
Now, I've got a really fun Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book to talk about, The Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby. (Just the title cracks me up.) Tomorrow is prom, and all Mia wants to do is cast a love spell on her date Rob Ziggerman to keep him away from cheerleading goddess Samantha and save him all to herself. But somehow she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class instead. At first Mia loves all the attention her classmates are giving her; treating her like a queen, compliments galore, and all the chocolate a girl could want. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up. Why? Because in twenty-four hours, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. That’s what being the ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH means. She’s sure she and Chase can figure something out, especially when the alternative means that her classmates and teachers will be feasting on her bones. But in the meantime, she’s suggests that no one wear white to tomorrow night’s prom, because she has a feeling that things could get very messy.
I interviewed Amanda about writing and zombies (which are far more related than you might think):
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
To be honest the whole thing started as joke. I use to threaten my critique partners that if they weren’t careful I would write a book a called I Was a Zombie Killer Bride (and between you and me I still think the project has legs!!). Anyway, the more I said it the more the idea of doing a zombie book appealed to me. I’d never seen or heard of any other books out at the time (this was back in 2007) and so I started trying to think of some zombie ideas. Enter my husband who had been preparing himself for this very moment by spending a lifetime watching zombie movies (in fact he was the one who first insisted I watch some Hammer House of Horror movies which I ended up loving!). Anyway, instead of running a mile which is what he normally does when I’m stuck for ideas, he opened a bottle of wine, patted the couch and we started brainstorming!!!! It was too much fun!
Can you offer us a few zombie survival tips?
Yes, absolutely.
Rule number one is footwear. Trying to run away from zombies while you’re wearing heels just isn’t going to work. You need sneakers and socks (to stop blisters, since let’s face it, blisters leads to blood, leads to zombie saliva glands and is therefore a big no-no).
Rule number two. Don’t try and play dead because they will find you. Zombies might not have great vision but they can smell you from over a mile away (and apparently you smell a bit like really, really, really great BBQ chicken with just a hint of herbs and spices sprinkled over the top. Or, so I’ve heard…)
Rule number three. Don’t stand anywhere near a ketchup bottle. Or jug of gravy for that matter because that is just making life a little bit too easy for our undead foes.
What do you have in your personal Zombie Survival Kit?
A lighter (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A cell phone charm (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A detailed floor plan of Newbury High (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A bottle of water (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
Is there a sure-fire way to tell if the cheerleading squad has been turned into zombies or if that's just normal for them?
The first sign someone is turning into a zombie is the skin around their face and jaw starts to go slack. The second sign is that suddenly have an uncontrollable desire to eat meat. Lots of it.
Unfortunately, when it comes to cheerleaders, the discovery that their diet is screwed and that their looks are going will normally cause them to rip out their own their own hair in despair. Also, it is normally accompanied by some moaning and wailing. So in my professional opinion, if I was trying to identify a potential cheerleading zombie, I would look for anyone who was holding some matted hair extensions while chewing on beef jerky and wearing a paper bag on their head. Sound familiar? If so you’d probably better give the Department of Paranormal Containment a ring. Pronto.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us (or warn us!) about this book?
I’m fairly certain that ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH will put you off ever wanting to do a love spell in order to avoid public humiliation, since as Mia Everett discovers, there are actually worse things than getting dumped before prom.
What are you working on now?
My next young adult book out with Puffin is about a girl who goes to a prestigious slaying school. She is determined to follow in her dead mom’s footsteps and be a dragon slayer. Unfortunately she gets stuck with four inch fairies who spend more time in the mall than they do out trying to hurt people. Not exactly the stuff that high destiny is made of. Then she suddenly starts to see another kind of fairy. Of the six foot, killer variety that no one has ever heard of before. However, due to a small misunderstanding, no one believes her and she is forced to fight the killer fairies on her, while at the same time trying to discover how her dead mom fits into it all.
I’m still waiting for me revisions for that one and so in the meantime I’m hard at work on a mid grade book with a thirteen year old heroine who does something even more ridiculous than turn her school into zombies. Oh, yeah!
For more info, check out Amanda's web site. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
Since the collective wisdom of my readers never ceases to amaze me, I thought I'd throw this out there and see if anyone has any ideas: I haven't been dancing in far too long, and I'm dying for a foxtrot. Since I'll be in New York next weekend, I figure there has to be something in the ballroom dancing arena going on. I mean, there's pretty much a little of just about everything going on in New York, right? (Or have all those TV shows, books and movies been lying to me?) Does anyone know of any possible ballroom dancing venues in the city where I might be able to show up solo and still manage to dance with someone? I've Googled and found a couple of dance studios that have social dance parties and a dance society that has public dances at a church. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for, as opposed to an actual nightclub or music venue where people are more likely to go with dates, so I thought I'd check to see if anyone knew of anything else or had something good to recommend.
Now, I've got a really fun Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book to talk about, The Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby. (Just the title cracks me up.) Tomorrow is prom, and all Mia wants to do is cast a love spell on her date Rob Ziggerman to keep him away from cheerleading goddess Samantha and save him all to herself. But somehow she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class instead. At first Mia loves all the attention her classmates are giving her; treating her like a queen, compliments galore, and all the chocolate a girl could want. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up. Why? Because in twenty-four hours, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. That’s what being the ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH means. She’s sure she and Chase can figure something out, especially when the alternative means that her classmates and teachers will be feasting on her bones. But in the meantime, she’s suggests that no one wear white to tomorrow night’s prom, because she has a feeling that things could get very messy.
I interviewed Amanda about writing and zombies (which are far more related than you might think):
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
To be honest the whole thing started as joke. I use to threaten my critique partners that if they weren’t careful I would write a book a called I Was a Zombie Killer Bride (and between you and me I still think the project has legs!!). Anyway, the more I said it the more the idea of doing a zombie book appealed to me. I’d never seen or heard of any other books out at the time (this was back in 2007) and so I started trying to think of some zombie ideas. Enter my husband who had been preparing himself for this very moment by spending a lifetime watching zombie movies (in fact he was the one who first insisted I watch some Hammer House of Horror movies which I ended up loving!). Anyway, instead of running a mile which is what he normally does when I’m stuck for ideas, he opened a bottle of wine, patted the couch and we started brainstorming!!!! It was too much fun!
Can you offer us a few zombie survival tips?
Yes, absolutely.
Rule number one is footwear. Trying to run away from zombies while you’re wearing heels just isn’t going to work. You need sneakers and socks (to stop blisters, since let’s face it, blisters leads to blood, leads to zombie saliva glands and is therefore a big no-no).
Rule number two. Don’t try and play dead because they will find you. Zombies might not have great vision but they can smell you from over a mile away (and apparently you smell a bit like really, really, really great BBQ chicken with just a hint of herbs and spices sprinkled over the top. Or, so I’ve heard…)
Rule number three. Don’t stand anywhere near a ketchup bottle. Or jug of gravy for that matter because that is just making life a little bit too easy for our undead foes.
What do you have in your personal Zombie Survival Kit?
A lighter (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A cell phone charm (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A detailed floor plan of Newbury High (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
A bottle of water (but you’ll have to read the book to find out why)
Is there a sure-fire way to tell if the cheerleading squad has been turned into zombies or if that's just normal for them?
The first sign someone is turning into a zombie is the skin around their face and jaw starts to go slack. The second sign is that suddenly have an uncontrollable desire to eat meat. Lots of it.
Unfortunately, when it comes to cheerleaders, the discovery that their diet is screwed and that their looks are going will normally cause them to rip out their own their own hair in despair. Also, it is normally accompanied by some moaning and wailing. So in my professional opinion, if I was trying to identify a potential cheerleading zombie, I would look for anyone who was holding some matted hair extensions while chewing on beef jerky and wearing a paper bag on their head. Sound familiar? If so you’d probably better give the Department of Paranormal Containment a ring. Pronto.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us (or warn us!) about this book?
I’m fairly certain that ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH will put you off ever wanting to do a love spell in order to avoid public humiliation, since as Mia Everett discovers, there are actually worse things than getting dumped before prom.
What are you working on now?
My next young adult book out with Puffin is about a girl who goes to a prestigious slaying school. She is determined to follow in her dead mom’s footsteps and be a dragon slayer. Unfortunately she gets stuck with four inch fairies who spend more time in the mall than they do out trying to hurt people. Not exactly the stuff that high destiny is made of. Then she suddenly starts to see another kind of fairy. Of the six foot, killer variety that no one has ever heard of before. However, due to a small misunderstanding, no one believes her and she is forced to fight the killer fairies on her, while at the same time trying to discover how her dead mom fits into it all.
I’m still waiting for me revisions for that one and so in the meantime I’m hard at work on a mid grade book with a thirteen year old heroine who does something even more ridiculous than turn her school into zombies. Oh, yeah!
For more info, check out Amanda's web site. Or you can order the book from Amazon.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Jennifer Banash
It's Mardi Gras, so here's a handful of virtual beads (and no, you don't have to do anything to "earn" them. Please!), and maybe I ought to dig out my Dixieland CDs for the day. I was actually in New Orleans for Mardi Gras one year, but the week before Fat Tuesday, which I suppose means that I technically was there during the Carnival season, not Mardi Gras, since Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday." Anyway, there was a trade show that week, and my hotel was on Canal Street, so I saw one parade from the safety of the hotel doorway with the doorman nearby (those crowds were kind of crazy). It was one of the lesser krewes (I guess as you're more prominent, you get later parades), so the floats were really lame and the costumes consisted of robes and plain masks, but the marching bands were cool. The New Orleans high school bands must stay busy at this time of year. To be traditional, I should probably make pancakes for dinner, but since I'm still sniffly and have a slight cough I may make Bev Hale's cure-all chicken soup instead.
I have another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest today, but first I'll give you a little background on the circuit, since I know new people are showing up around here all the time. The Circuit started back in 2005 as a way for women authors to support each other. Very few authors get real book tours, and newspaper book review sections tend to focus more on male authors (whether intentionally or through a selection bias where men are more likely to write the kind of stuff that newspaper book editors tend to focus on). So, we could create a virtual "tour" for the authors in the group by hosting each other on our blogs and exposing more readers to our work. The group was successful enough that a couple of years ago we split into two groups, one primarily for adult books and one that's young-adult friendly (either YA books or books that might be suitable for younger readers). I went with the YA group because the adult group was tending more toward literary fiction or book club type books and I thought my books would be of more interest to the readership of the YA group, and the books promoted in the YA group would be of more interest to my readers. We can feature the books/authors however we want, as long as we tell something about the book. I generally do interviews. So, there you have it.
This week's guest is Jennifer Banish, author of In Too Deep, the latest book in The Elite, a series about a Midwestern girl who gets transplanted to Manhattan's Upper East Side -- think Pretty in Pink meets Gossip Girl.
The Bramford building’s newest resident and small-town transplant Casey McCloy is adapting to life in the Big Apple and loving it. She’s got the look, the attitude, and a delish new boyfriend, Drew Van Allen. But she’s starting to have second thoughts as to whether the “New York” Casey is the real Casey. And she’s not so sure she likes herself much anymore. She’s not the only one.
Madison Macallister has always had her Manolo Blahniks firmly planted on the top rung of the social ladder—until that corn-fed cow Casey stole Drew away from her and made her look the fool. So what if Madison wasn’t exactly dating Drew at the time? She wanted him. And everyone knows that Madison gets what she wants, like Drew—and a little revenge.
And now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
Reality TV! I'm obsessed with it, and since the girls end up getting their own reality TV series in this book, I wanted to structure the plot as much like a reality series as possible.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your heroine?
I can be really shy and unsure of myself. I tend to second guess every move I make, and I worry way too much about things that probably don't really matter in the grad scheme of things.
You went to high school on the Upper East Side. How would you compare your real-life experiences with what happens in your books (or on Gossip Girl and stories like that)?
There were certainly kids that came to school in limos or who had drivers! But the kids I knew had real problems, despite the fact they were wealthy, and I wanted my books to reflect that idea, while also somehow still functioning as an escape for readers.
How does having ridiculous amounts of money or living in New York affect the usual things teenagers go through with friends, boyfriends, school, etc.?
It doesn't make then any easier to deal with, that's for sure. What money can buy you is time, and freedom--it can't help you get a guy to give you the time of day, and it certainly can't mend a broken heart.
Now that you live on the other coast, how do you stay current with that New York world for your books?
I read a lot of blogs, and I have friends in NY that I talk to regularly.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on a new YA series about a girl who's family moves from Malibu California to a huge dilapidated castle in Romania. I can't really tell you more than that though, because the series isn't sold yet.
(Oh, but doesn't that sound absolutely delicious? I love castles!)
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
If you like drama and scandal tempered by doses of reality, you will love IN TOO DEEP. The third volume in THE ELITE series, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, hits shelves in July!!
For more info, check out Jennifer's blog. You can also buy the book from Amazon
And now since I do have some direction and a strategy on what I should work on now, I will be huddling under a blanket with a spiral notebook to do some serious work on The Nagging Idea.
I have another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest today, but first I'll give you a little background on the circuit, since I know new people are showing up around here all the time. The Circuit started back in 2005 as a way for women authors to support each other. Very few authors get real book tours, and newspaper book review sections tend to focus more on male authors (whether intentionally or through a selection bias where men are more likely to write the kind of stuff that newspaper book editors tend to focus on). So, we could create a virtual "tour" for the authors in the group by hosting each other on our blogs and exposing more readers to our work. The group was successful enough that a couple of years ago we split into two groups, one primarily for adult books and one that's young-adult friendly (either YA books or books that might be suitable for younger readers). I went with the YA group because the adult group was tending more toward literary fiction or book club type books and I thought my books would be of more interest to the readership of the YA group, and the books promoted in the YA group would be of more interest to my readers. We can feature the books/authors however we want, as long as we tell something about the book. I generally do interviews. So, there you have it.
This week's guest is Jennifer Banish, author of In Too Deep, the latest book in The Elite, a series about a Midwestern girl who gets transplanted to Manhattan's Upper East Side -- think Pretty in Pink meets Gossip Girl.
The Bramford building’s newest resident and small-town transplant Casey McCloy is adapting to life in the Big Apple and loving it. She’s got the look, the attitude, and a delish new boyfriend, Drew Van Allen. But she’s starting to have second thoughts as to whether the “New York” Casey is the real Casey. And she’s not so sure she likes herself much anymore. She’s not the only one.
Madison Macallister has always had her Manolo Blahniks firmly planted on the top rung of the social ladder—until that corn-fed cow Casey stole Drew away from her and made her look the fool. So what if Madison wasn’t exactly dating Drew at the time? She wanted him. And everyone knows that Madison gets what she wants, like Drew—and a little revenge.
And now the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
Reality TV! I'm obsessed with it, and since the girls end up getting their own reality TV series in this book, I wanted to structure the plot as much like a reality series as possible.
What, if anything, do you have in common with your heroine?
I can be really shy and unsure of myself. I tend to second guess every move I make, and I worry way too much about things that probably don't really matter in the grad scheme of things.
You went to high school on the Upper East Side. How would you compare your real-life experiences with what happens in your books (or on Gossip Girl and stories like that)?
There were certainly kids that came to school in limos or who had drivers! But the kids I knew had real problems, despite the fact they were wealthy, and I wanted my books to reflect that idea, while also somehow still functioning as an escape for readers.
How does having ridiculous amounts of money or living in New York affect the usual things teenagers go through with friends, boyfriends, school, etc.?
It doesn't make then any easier to deal with, that's for sure. What money can buy you is time, and freedom--it can't help you get a guy to give you the time of day, and it certainly can't mend a broken heart.
Now that you live on the other coast, how do you stay current with that New York world for your books?
I read a lot of blogs, and I have friends in NY that I talk to regularly.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on a new YA series about a girl who's family moves from Malibu California to a huge dilapidated castle in Romania. I can't really tell you more than that though, because the series isn't sold yet.
(Oh, but doesn't that sound absolutely delicious? I love castles!)
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
If you like drama and scandal tempered by doses of reality, you will love IN TOO DEEP. The third volume in THE ELITE series, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, hits shelves in July!!
For more info, check out Jennifer's blog. You can also buy the book from Amazon
And now since I do have some direction and a strategy on what I should work on now, I will be huddling under a blanket with a spiral notebook to do some serious work on The Nagging Idea.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Crushes From Afar
I have a feeling this is going to be one of those "force myself to work" days. Not so much the writing stuff, since I'm in thinking/brainstorming mode, so that's always going on in the back of my brain. But I have lots of little business-type tasks to do and a to-do list full of stuff like sending an e-mail to someone and for some odd reason I find myself strangely reluctant to do so. I may clean my kitchen and bake cookies for something I'm going to this weekend.
I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book/author on tour this week, and the book ties in pretty well with my theme for the week of acknowledging the season of ubiquitous commercialized representations of romance. The book is Miss Match by Wendy Tolliver, and here's the plot info:
Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is.
Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?
My life might have turned out totally different if there'd been someone like this when I was younger. Not so much in high school, since I went to high school in a very small town, where it was pretty much impossible to have a crush from afar, since there was no "afar." I knew and interacted with all the boys I may or may not have had crushes on, so the fact that nothing came of those crushes meant either that they just weren't that into me or that I was inadvertently sending out signals that were the opposite of the way I really felt so they decided it wasn't worth trying (I suspect a lot of it was my usual problem, that the ones I like aren't interested in me, and I'm not interested in the ones who are interested in me). But in junior high and college, I was the QUEEN of the crush from afar. We're talking so afar that a lot of the time, I didn't even know the guy's name. It was almost like having a celebrity crush, except that there was the tiniest tantalizing possibility that we might possibly meet (although, you know, I've had more real-life interaction with actual movie stars than I had with some of those boys, because while I didn't talk to any of the actor-type people, I did make eye contact with some of them).
So, naturally, I asked Wendy about that matchmaker thing:
Did you have a high school crush, and if so, could you have used a matchmaker to get you together? What would a matchmaker have needed to do to help you?
I had a gazillion crushes, and yes, I think I could've definitely used the help of a matchmaker. The matchmaker would've needed to amp up (or feminize) my wardrobe (which pretty much consisted of jeans and baseball shirts) and give me pep talks so I wouldn't be so embarrassed to talk to him. It wouldn't hurt if the matchmaker had cupid-like powers, either.
Hmmm, I had a pretty feminine wardrobe, and I thought I was stylish (though I do cringe at the thought of some of the things I wore). But yeah, the big problem was the fear of talking to these guys, and cupid-like powers may have been necessary. I might have even had a problem with telling the matchmaker about the crush in the first place because I wouldn't even talk to my best friends about my crushes (in junior high, there was a very high risk that all the girls would giggle furiously whenever the guy came on the scene and do things like point and say loudly, "Look! There he is! I think he's looking at you!"). In college, my "crushes" tended to be more along the lines of picking out a guy in my huge lecture hall classes to look forward to seeing each day. There was one guy who got to be my target in two classes -- in my English class my sophomore year and in a European studies class my senior year. All I know about him was that he was in ROTC and he looked very nice in that uniform.
But in light of some of the things I've been talking about for the last couple of days about fun with fictional relationships, I'm not sure that I wanted or needed to meet some of those guys. Since I knew nothing about them, they were as much a fantasy construct as any fictional character, and the fun part was the room for imagination, thinking of various ways we might meet and how that would go. Mostly, they provided a reason to look forward to going to school and an incentive to look my best that probably raised my spirits overall. Actually talking to these guys might have ruined that.
And now, more about Wendy and her book and writing process, etc.:
Do you have any particular writing habits or rituals?
I usually do all my email, blogging, promo stuff in the morning over breakfast, then my major writing in the afternoon when my toddler is napping. Typically I do not listen to music (with three little boys, peace and quiet is what I crave) and I used to do the Diet Coke thing but my New Year's resolution was to cut it out, so now I just drink tea, water, and an occasional glass of red wine while I write.
Chocolate: milk or dark?
I like milk for the taste but I also like dark and since it has some health benefits, I'll usually choose dark.
What are you working on now?
LIFTED, the story about a transplant to a parochial school who learns that not all students are as pious as they seem when she’s inducted into a shoplifting clique and soon finds herself in over her head. It comes out with Simon Pulse April 27, 2010 and I’m so excited.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I loved writing MISS MATCH. In its early days, I had some girls from Snowcrest Junior High (the high school in my book is Snow Crest) read it and give me input. It later went on to be a 2007 finalist in the YA category of the Romance Writers of America's Goden Heart contest. It used to be called "Cupid Girl," but we changed the title because there's another Simon Pulse Ro-Com called "Cupidity."
For more info on Wendy and her books, visit her web site. Or, you can buy the book from Amazon.
I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit book/author on tour this week, and the book ties in pretty well with my theme for the week of acknowledging the season of ubiquitous commercialized representations of romance. The book is Miss Match by Wendy Tolliver, and here's the plot info:
Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is.
Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?
My life might have turned out totally different if there'd been someone like this when I was younger. Not so much in high school, since I went to high school in a very small town, where it was pretty much impossible to have a crush from afar, since there was no "afar." I knew and interacted with all the boys I may or may not have had crushes on, so the fact that nothing came of those crushes meant either that they just weren't that into me or that I was inadvertently sending out signals that were the opposite of the way I really felt so they decided it wasn't worth trying (I suspect a lot of it was my usual problem, that the ones I like aren't interested in me, and I'm not interested in the ones who are interested in me). But in junior high and college, I was the QUEEN of the crush from afar. We're talking so afar that a lot of the time, I didn't even know the guy's name. It was almost like having a celebrity crush, except that there was the tiniest tantalizing possibility that we might possibly meet (although, you know, I've had more real-life interaction with actual movie stars than I had with some of those boys, because while I didn't talk to any of the actor-type people, I did make eye contact with some of them).
So, naturally, I asked Wendy about that matchmaker thing:
Did you have a high school crush, and if so, could you have used a matchmaker to get you together? What would a matchmaker have needed to do to help you?
I had a gazillion crushes, and yes, I think I could've definitely used the help of a matchmaker. The matchmaker would've needed to amp up (or feminize) my wardrobe (which pretty much consisted of jeans and baseball shirts) and give me pep talks so I wouldn't be so embarrassed to talk to him. It wouldn't hurt if the matchmaker had cupid-like powers, either.
Hmmm, I had a pretty feminine wardrobe, and I thought I was stylish (though I do cringe at the thought of some of the things I wore). But yeah, the big problem was the fear of talking to these guys, and cupid-like powers may have been necessary. I might have even had a problem with telling the matchmaker about the crush in the first place because I wouldn't even talk to my best friends about my crushes (in junior high, there was a very high risk that all the girls would giggle furiously whenever the guy came on the scene and do things like point and say loudly, "Look! There he is! I think he's looking at you!"). In college, my "crushes" tended to be more along the lines of picking out a guy in my huge lecture hall classes to look forward to seeing each day. There was one guy who got to be my target in two classes -- in my English class my sophomore year and in a European studies class my senior year. All I know about him was that he was in ROTC and he looked very nice in that uniform.
But in light of some of the things I've been talking about for the last couple of days about fun with fictional relationships, I'm not sure that I wanted or needed to meet some of those guys. Since I knew nothing about them, they were as much a fantasy construct as any fictional character, and the fun part was the room for imagination, thinking of various ways we might meet and how that would go. Mostly, they provided a reason to look forward to going to school and an incentive to look my best that probably raised my spirits overall. Actually talking to these guys might have ruined that.
And now, more about Wendy and her book and writing process, etc.:
Do you have any particular writing habits or rituals?
I usually do all my email, blogging, promo stuff in the morning over breakfast, then my major writing in the afternoon when my toddler is napping. Typically I do not listen to music (with three little boys, peace and quiet is what I crave) and I used to do the Diet Coke thing but my New Year's resolution was to cut it out, so now I just drink tea, water, and an occasional glass of red wine while I write.
Chocolate: milk or dark?
I like milk for the taste but I also like dark and since it has some health benefits, I'll usually choose dark.
What are you working on now?
LIFTED, the story about a transplant to a parochial school who learns that not all students are as pious as they seem when she’s inducted into a shoplifting clique and soon finds herself in over her head. It comes out with Simon Pulse April 27, 2010 and I’m so excited.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
I loved writing MISS MATCH. In its early days, I had some girls from Snowcrest Junior High (the high school in my book is Snow Crest) read it and give me input. It later went on to be a 2007 finalist in the YA category of the Romance Writers of America's Goden Heart contest. It used to be called "Cupid Girl," but we changed the title because there's another Simon Pulse Ro-Com called "Cupidity."
For more info on Wendy and her books, visit her web site. Or, you can buy the book from Amazon.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Alyson Noel
I had a big breakthrough yesterday in figuring out the other main character for The Nagging Idea, and now I think I know what makes him tick. It's fun to feel things starting to fall into place. It's like learning a Mozart choral work, where there are all these complicated things going on that don't seem to have anything to do with each other, but then once you've got your part down, it suddenly seems to snap into place with everything else, and then you can't imagine why it wasn't obvious from the start. Or maybe that's just me (I think I was annoying the people in my section last night at rehearsal when I started giggling madly after suddenly getting how it fit together so that this part that had seemed really hard became really easy because obviously that was the only way it could go).
Those who've been around here a while may remember me talking about a book called The Anatomy of Story and pondering the author's assertion that the characters needed to not only have a psychological failing (a character flaw that mostly hurts themselves) but also a moral failing where they're actually hurting others in the way they insist on doing things. This may be the first book I write where I actually have some element of that. We'll see if I can pull that off.
In the meantime, I'll talk about other people's books! This must be a big book-release phase because I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit author on tour, Alyson Noel. The last time I went to New York, I went with Alyson and her husband to this really cool swing club where she knew the bandleader. So now I guess it's my turn to play hostess in a virtual cyber sense to talk about Evermore, the first book in her new Immortals series.
Sixteen-year-old Ever used to have two parents, a little sister, a dog, and a nice house in Oregon. She used to be a varsity cheerleader and go to school dances. But that was before the horrible accident that claimed the lives of her family.
Now Ever blares the Sex Pistols through her headphones and hides under her hoodie in class. She doesn’t need to listen to hear, or see to know. All she needs is to touch someone to know their entire life story, not to mention always seeing their auras and hearing their thoughts. She’s been branded a freak at her new high school in Laguna Beach as she goes out of her way to avoid human contact, but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
From the moment Ever first looks at Damen, she feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies, and nothing is as it seems…
And now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
Well, a few years ago I lost three people I loved in five horrible months, and just when the dust began to settle my husband was diagnosed with leukemia and it felt like my entire world was crashing down. A year later, when he was in full remission, I wrote SAVING ZOE and CRUEL SUMMER, both of which explore the subject of grief and unavoidable change. But when it came time to write my next book, I realized I wasn’t finished exploring those themes though I wanted to do so in a much different way, by giving the story a paranormal twist and pushing the boundaries between life and death, and EVERMORE just came pouring out of me.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the heroine of your book?
Despite the fact that I’m not currently 16 years old or psychic, I totally get how Ever feels in the world—sort of jolted, misplaced. That’s exactly how I felt when I was her age.
Being able to read the thoughts of others and know everything about them makes life difficult for Ever, but I think there might have been times when I was a teen that I would have wanted to do that. Would you have wanted that kind of power as a teen, and what would you most have wanted to find out? Or is there something you really wouldn't have wanted to know?
As a teen, I definitely would have wanted that power, but now—not so much. As Ever says, “Sometimes even your best friends can think some pretty unflattering things, and not having an off switch requires a heck of a lot of forgiveness.” Though I’m sure I would’ve just squandered that kind of power back then. Using it primarily to peer inside a certain boy’s head, instead of, you know, getting answers to a test or something truly useful like that!
This is your first novel with paranormal elements. What led you to delve into the world of the "woo-woo"?
You know, I’ve been fascinated by all things paranormal since I was a kid—seriously, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST was my favorite cartoon—so I’m actually kind of surprised that it took me so long to write one of my own. But I’m so glad I did because writing this series has been an absolute blast, allowing me to delve into all sorts of mystical things I’ve always been curious about. I took a three day psychic development seminar with world renowned medium, James Van Praagh, and went under hypnosis in a past life regression with bestselling author, Dr. Brian Weiss—all under the guise of “research” of course!
What are you working on now?
I recently finished BLUE MOON, the second book in my IMMMORTALS series, that’ll be in stores on 08.04.09, and I’m about half way through the next book in the series, which, for the moment I refer to as UNTITLED BOOK #3, though I’m sure the title will change! And then there’s UNTITLED BOOKS #4 & 5 following that!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Not only is this my first foray into the paranormal, but it’s also my first stab at writing a series, which I’ve found to be completely different from writing a stand-alone. And since I’ve never been any good at goodbyes, it’s been really nice to just settle into this world I’ve created and hang out with my characters a little longer than usual.
(I think that's the main reason everything I write seems to turn into a series.)
For more info, visit Alyson's web site. Or buy the book from Amazon.
Those who've been around here a while may remember me talking about a book called The Anatomy of Story and pondering the author's assertion that the characters needed to not only have a psychological failing (a character flaw that mostly hurts themselves) but also a moral failing where they're actually hurting others in the way they insist on doing things. This may be the first book I write where I actually have some element of that. We'll see if I can pull that off.
In the meantime, I'll talk about other people's books! This must be a big book-release phase because I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit author on tour, Alyson Noel. The last time I went to New York, I went with Alyson and her husband to this really cool swing club where she knew the bandleader. So now I guess it's my turn to play hostess in a virtual cyber sense to talk about Evermore, the first book in her new Immortals series.
Sixteen-year-old Ever used to have two parents, a little sister, a dog, and a nice house in Oregon. She used to be a varsity cheerleader and go to school dances. But that was before the horrible accident that claimed the lives of her family.
Now Ever blares the Sex Pistols through her headphones and hides under her hoodie in class. She doesn’t need to listen to hear, or see to know. All she needs is to touch someone to know their entire life story, not to mention always seeing their auras and hearing their thoughts. She’s been branded a freak at her new high school in Laguna Beach as she goes out of her way to avoid human contact, but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
From the moment Ever first looks at Damen, she feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies, and nothing is as it seems…
And now, the interview:
Was there any particular inspiration behind this book?
Well, a few years ago I lost three people I loved in five horrible months, and just when the dust began to settle my husband was diagnosed with leukemia and it felt like my entire world was crashing down. A year later, when he was in full remission, I wrote SAVING ZOE and CRUEL SUMMER, both of which explore the subject of grief and unavoidable change. But when it came time to write my next book, I realized I wasn’t finished exploring those themes though I wanted to do so in a much different way, by giving the story a paranormal twist and pushing the boundaries between life and death, and EVERMORE just came pouring out of me.
What, if anything, do you have in common with the heroine of your book?
Despite the fact that I’m not currently 16 years old or psychic, I totally get how Ever feels in the world—sort of jolted, misplaced. That’s exactly how I felt when I was her age.
Being able to read the thoughts of others and know everything about them makes life difficult for Ever, but I think there might have been times when I was a teen that I would have wanted to do that. Would you have wanted that kind of power as a teen, and what would you most have wanted to find out? Or is there something you really wouldn't have wanted to know?
As a teen, I definitely would have wanted that power, but now—not so much. As Ever says, “Sometimes even your best friends can think some pretty unflattering things, and not having an off switch requires a heck of a lot of forgiveness.” Though I’m sure I would’ve just squandered that kind of power back then. Using it primarily to peer inside a certain boy’s head, instead of, you know, getting answers to a test or something truly useful like that!
This is your first novel with paranormal elements. What led you to delve into the world of the "woo-woo"?
You know, I’ve been fascinated by all things paranormal since I was a kid—seriously, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST was my favorite cartoon—so I’m actually kind of surprised that it took me so long to write one of my own. But I’m so glad I did because writing this series has been an absolute blast, allowing me to delve into all sorts of mystical things I’ve always been curious about. I took a three day psychic development seminar with world renowned medium, James Van Praagh, and went under hypnosis in a past life regression with bestselling author, Dr. Brian Weiss—all under the guise of “research” of course!
What are you working on now?
I recently finished BLUE MOON, the second book in my IMMMORTALS series, that’ll be in stores on 08.04.09, and I’m about half way through the next book in the series, which, for the moment I refer to as UNTITLED BOOK #3, though I’m sure the title will change! And then there’s UNTITLED BOOKS #4 & 5 following that!
Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book or the process of writing it?
Not only is this my first foray into the paranormal, but it’s also my first stab at writing a series, which I’ve found to be completely different from writing a stand-alone. And since I’ve never been any good at goodbyes, it’s been really nice to just settle into this world I’ve created and hang out with my characters a little longer than usual.
(I think that's the main reason everything I write seems to turn into a series.)
For more info, visit Alyson's web site. Or buy the book from Amazon.
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