YA Author Interviews

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing quite a few YA authors over the past year (and a couple MG authors, too!). Here are links to the interviews, in case you missed any of your fave authors:

• Cyn Balog, author of Fairy Tale
• Karen Bass, author of Run Like Jager and Summer of Fire
• Kristin Butcher, author of Return to Bone Tree Hill, the Zach & Zoe MG series, and many other books for teens and children
• Megan Crewe, author of Give Up the Ghost
• Tina Ferraro, author of The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie, and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
• Danette Haworth, author of Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning
• Carrie Jones, author of Need, Girl, Hero, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, and Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape)
• J.E. MacLeod, author of Waiting to Score
• Keri Mikulski, author of Screwball and Change Up
• Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me and Far From You
• Kristina Springer, author of The Espressologist
• Courtney Summers, author of Cracked Up To Be and Some Girls Are
• Barrie Summy, author of I So Don’t Do Mysteries and I So Don’t Do Spooky – coming December 1!

20 Questions YA Author Interview: Kristina Springer

I’m happy to welcome author Kristina Springer to my blog today. Kristina’s debut novel, The Espressologist, just released on October 27 ( Farrar, Straus, and Giroux). It’s about a teenage coffee barista who discovers a talent for matchmaking customers based on their favourite coffee drinks. Grab a cuppa and check out Kristina’s responses to my 20 Questions!

1. Morning person or night owl?
   Morning.
2. Outliner or pantser?
   Outliner.
3. Rejection letters – save ‘em or toss ‘em?
   Save ‘em.
4. What’s the best thing a reader ever said to you?
   That she laughed out loud in so many spots.
5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
   That Beyonce one– Ring on It? It was on GLEE. So funny.
   
6. What was the last movie you watched?
   Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
   
7. What was the last book you read and loved?
   Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree, by Lauren Tarshis.
8. What’s your all-time favourite story?
   Tough question! Hmm…I’m always a sucker for A Christmas Carol.
9. Any nicknames we might come across if we delved into your past?
   I had a lot of names that end in “head” from my Dad while growing up. Really, me and my three brothers had a whole slew of them: Melon Head, Pumpkin Head, Knuckle Head, Meat Head, and so on.
10. Any phobias you’re willing to admit to?
    I‘m not a fan of hospitals.
11. What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
    Pool attendant at an apartment complex. I just had to be there. And check the chlorine once a day.
12. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
    Hmm…probably giving birth. Especially the last kid– he was ten pounds.
13. What’s one thing that really bugs you?
    Spam.
    
    Oh wait… you probably mean this:
    
14. What’s one thing you’re really proud of?
    My kids.
15. What’s the last thing you Googled?
    Addresses (I’m working on Launch party invites).
16. Where’s the farthest place from home you’ve travelled?
    France.
17. What’s your idea of a perfect vacation?
    Somewhere tropical.
    
18. What’s your favourite sports team?
    I’m so not into sports teams. I never know who is playing or what season it is.
19. What’s up next for you writing-wise?
    My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours comes out in the fall of 2010.
20. What’s your favourite piece of advice for writers?
    Be persistent.

Definitely good advice! Thanks so much for being here, Kristina. Congrats on the release of The Espressologist!

Thanks Shari!

Blurg: Eyes Like Stars

I just read Lisa Mantchev’s Eyes Like Stars and loved it! Unique, innovative, and freakin’ hilarious at times, thanks to Lisa’s take on the fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here’s the blurb:

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own. Until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book–an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family–and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Highly recommended!

(*blurg = blurb in a blog)

20 Questions YA Author Interview: Megan Crewe

Although I’m in denial about it being October because that would mean summer is really, really over  (seriously… how is that possible?), I’m aware enough to know it’s a new month, which means *insert drum roll here* a brand new 20 Questions YA Author Interview! Yes, it’s true, and I’m delighted to welcome Megan Crewe to my blog on this, the first day of the month-which-must-not-be-named.

Megan is a fellow Canadian (*waves to Megan from across the country*). Her debut novel, Give Up The Ghost, launched September 15 from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.

Welcome, Megan!

And now, 20 Questions….

1. Morning person or night owl?
   I think of myself as a middle-of-the-day person.  I’m at my sharpest between about 10am and 2pm. 
2. Outliner or pantser?
   Outliner all the way! If I don’t have an outline I inevitably end up writing myself into a corner I can’t get out of.
3. Rejection letters – save ‘em or toss ‘em?
   Save them. They’re part of the journey!
4. What’s the best thing a reader ever said to you?
   That they stayed up late reading my book because they found it impossible to put down.
   
5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
   “Suddenly I See” by K.T. Tunstall
   
6. What was the last movie you watched?
   At home: Audition (a Japanese horror movie). In the theater: District 9.
7. What was the last book you read and loved?
   Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.
8. What’s your all-time favourite story?
   It is absolutely impossible to pick just one! The one I’ve loved the longest is The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
9. Any nicknames we might come across if we delved into your past?
   My dad calls me “pumpkin” sometimes–that’s about it.
10. Any phobias you’re willing to admit to?
    Spiders. And I’m mildly claustrophobic.
11. What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
    I haven’t had any really unusual jobs! I do get pretty goofy with the kids I work with, though.
12. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
    Spend five weeks overseas by myself (my first non-family trip). But it was also incredibly exciting.
13. What’s one thing that really bugs you?
    Having dry skin on my hands. I carry moisturizer everywhere.
14. What’s one thing you’re really proud of?
    My book!
15. What’s the last thing you Googled?
    A teacher’s name, so I could invite her to my launch party.
16. Where’s the farthest place from home you’ve travelled?
    China.
17. What’s your idea of a perfect vacation?
    Going to a far-off country I’ve never seen before and exploring its cities and landscapes.
18. What’s your favourite sports team?
    I cheer on the Canadian team during the Olympics!
19. What’s up next for you writing-wise?
    More YA novels, paranormal and fantasy.
20. What’s your favourite piece of advice for writers?
    Read. Write. Revise. (and repeat!)

Thanks so much for being here, Megan!

Thanks for the interview!

Check out the book trailer for Give Up The Ghost:

Mixed messages and the pursuit of done-ness

(A thoughts-on-writing post… just letting you know in case you want to slip out the back now before we begin. I won’t mind.)

Say you finish your novel – not just a first draft, but a revised, re-revised, and polished-to-a-shine version. You do a happy dance and have a party, and you feel giddy (but a little nauseous from one too many root beer floats). But then you realize that even though the novel is done, it’s not DONE done. So you take off the party hat, even though it looks so cute on you, and you decide you need some FEEDBACK. *insert menacing dun-dun-dun sound effect here*

Where are you going to get decent feedback? You know better than to send the manuscript to your mom* or your best friend (unless she’s a writer or editor or awesome critiquer) because now is not the time for pats on the back. You want non-biased, honest-but-kind, truly helpful feedback. Because otherwise there’s not much point, right?

If you’re lucky, you’re already part of a good critique group, or you have a tried-and-true critique partner. If not, your mission, should you choose to accept it – and IMHO it would be totally crazy not to – is to FIND A CRITIQUE GROUP! … Go ahead. I’ll wait…. Got one? Good. Okay, give them the manuscript.

Seriously. Let go.

kthx.

Now you wait. And you notice a weird phenomenon in which time actually slows down. It’s something to do with a glitch in Einstein’s theory of relativity and the time-space continuum. Don’t worry – that always happens when you hand over a piece of your soul. You distract yourself from the waiting by immersing yourself in your next novel – cuz you’re just smart that way – until the day finally comes when you receive the definitive word on the degree of done-ness possessed by your manuscript. Or not….

Instead of gleefully acknowledging the problems your readers discovered (all minor problems, of course) and getting right to work fixing them, you cry out to the gods in frustration. Why? Because every single reader/critiquer had a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OPINION! Talk about mixed messages. Sheesh. And now you’re thinking, what in the name of flaming hot Cheetos was the point of getting my manuscript critiqued?!

Take a breath.

Read all the comments again. See any common threads? Anything picked up by two or more people? Those are the things you want to really pay attention to. Those are the things that maybe didn’t quite arrive on the page the way they appeared in your brain. Or maybe they did, but you’d run out of coffee and your brain wasn’t working at full power the day you imagined that section, so that you ended up with a sub-plot or a character flaw or something, about which all you can say now is “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” You’ll wanna do some work on those bits….

But what of all those other random comments? The mixed messages and the opinions voiced by only a single critiquer? You kinda want to ignore them completely, don’t you, because if you don’t it’ll just mean more work. And you’re feeling ready to be done with this manuscript. But hang on a sec. Read the comments carefully. A good critiquer won’t have said “here’s how I would’ve written it”; he’ll have pointed out what doesn’t work for him, and why (in addition to mentioning what does work well). And if something doesn’t work for a reader, you have to consider it and decide if:

1. it’s simply a personal taste thing (sorry to say, but not everyone’s gonna love your writing… and that’s okay — do you love every book out there?); or
2. it’s just that reader having a less-than-stellar intellectual moment (hey, we all have those) and therefore doesn’t indicate the need to re-write the section in question; or
3. maybe, possibly, he has a point. You don’t want to change stuff for the sake of change, but if a comment resonates with you, take it to heart.

So there you have it. My lack-of-sleep influenced, long rambly post about FEEDBACK. The brilliant conclusion? Mixed messages aren’t such a terrible thing when it comes to improving your manuscript. Embrace them. Sift carefully through them. And get to work – that novel ain’t gonna finish itself!

- – - – -

(*I sometimes send stuff to my mom to read because she IS a writer, and a helpful critiquer, but she’s good with the pats-on-the-back stuff, too. I’m just lucky that way.)

Revision Tips

In case you missed any of this summer’s Fix-It Friday posts, here’s a list of the authors who contributed tips (click a name to open their tip in a new window):

1. Cynthea Liu
2. Sara Zarr
3. Dia Reeves
4. Linda Gerber
5. Lauren Baratz-Logsted
6. Bev Katz Rosenbaum
7. D.L. Garfinkle
8. Maggie Stiefvater
9. Elizabeth Scott
10. Kelly Parra

Thanks again to all these awesome authors! (I actually received more tips than there were Fridays, so there may be an encore presentation of Fix-It Friday in the future.)

Good luck with your revisions, everyone. Have fun crafting your best story possible!

Fix-It Friday

As summer winds down, I bring you the last of this round of Fix-It Friday revision tips, courtesy of Kelly Parra, author of Graffiti Girl and Invisible Touch.

Revisions, revisions, translates to me as layers, layers.

I have never been able to focus on several elements of storytelling at once. So as I write my draft I’ll put down my first layer, which is usually action and some personality. Then I’ll add the second layer, description and setting. Then I’ll add a nice coat of tightening and emotion.

Same with revisions… If I feel something is missing, it will of course be another layer. I may scrape down a layer or two already written and reshape the layer once I get to know the character better and get a handle on her voice. Writing a new book is always about finding your voice. Once you get comfortable with that voice and know it inside and out, the revision comes a lot easier. Because your characters are suddenly your best friends and you just know what they’ll say and do. Just. Like. That.

So what did we learn today? Revision comes in layers, and there may be a hundred caked on before you’re through, and then once you know your voice, layers–er, I mean–revision comes a lot easier.

Mmm, layers…. Reminds me of cake. And this:

But I digress. Thinking of revisions as adding layers makes so much sense! Thanks, Kelly, for sharing this great tip! Drop by any time and I’ll share some cake with you in return.

Fix-It Friday

This week, I’m pleased to bring you a revision tip from Elizabeth Scott, author of Something, Maybe and Love You Hate You Miss You.

Here’s something I think about when I’m revising that I’ve always
found helpful–it actually comes from Elmore Leonard.

Leonard is famous for saying “I try to leave out the parts that
readers skip,” and it’s really, really good advice. I tend to lose
massive chunks of my first drafts (in one case, I lost 50%!) this
way, but I find that streamlining things helps the story move.

Is it painful to cut out so much? Sometimes it’s agony. Other times–
like when I’ve written ten pages about people eating breakfast–it
makes me very happy.

I’ve heard something similar to Leonard’s advice — leave out the boring parts — and for sure it seems wise to look at our manuscript this way, with our readers in mind. Thanks very much for sharing this tip, Elizabeth!

Fix-It Friday

Got a first draft that needs serious help? Looking at a revision letter from your agent or editor and trying not to turn into a quivering mass of insecurity? Fix-It Fridays are for you! A new revision tip from a published author every Friday this summer (except, you know, when I’m so caught up in my own revisions that I totally forget to post something).

This week, author Cynthea Liu offers this tip on pacing:

Want to catch pacing issues quickly? Stop reading your manuscript double-spaced.  Print it out single-spaced and pretend you’re a real reader.  You’ll be amazed what you’ll catch that way. Double-spacing can make you easily lose track of what “real-time” to the reader is. Single-spacing gives you a better sense of that reality. And now that your eyes are reading as quickly as they should, you’ll also notice things like echoes and needless repetition more easily.

Thanks, Cynthea!

Cynthea’s latest novel, Paris Pan Takes The Dare, is now available!

20 Questions YA Author Interview: Danette Haworth

Hey, guess what? It’s time for a bonus mid-month 20 Questions YA Author Interview. I’m happy to welcome Danette Haworth to my blog. Danette’s first novel, Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning, is actually MG (shhh…) but she’s such a super sweet person that I just had to have her visit.

Danette Haworth is related to a Romanian prince, or so her grandmother has claimed. Ruling her kingdom from her home in Orlando, Danette spends her days writing books and her nights cooking suppers nobody likes. She is partial to chocolate ice cream and U2.

And now… 20 Questions for Danette!

1. Morning person or night owl?
Night owl! It takes two double cappuccinos in the morning to turn me back into a human.

2. Outliner or pantser?
Outliner until The Hotel of Blueberry Goodness. Then I became an accidental pantser.

3. Rejection letters – save ‘em or toss ‘em?
Haven’t they done their evil already?

4. What’s the best thing a reader ever said to you?
“I am just like Violet.”

5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
“Mad World,” sung by Adam Lambert on American Idol.

6. What was the last movie you watched?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Again! I love Captain Jack Sparrow!

7. What was the last book you read and loved?
Second Fiddle: Or How to Tell a Blackbird from a Sausage by Siobhan Parkinson

8. What’s your all-time favourite story?
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning, heh-heh

9. Any nicknames we might come across if we delved into your past?
Netti, but don’t make me hit you.

10. Any phobias you’re willing to admit to?
I’m ascared of bugs!

11. What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
Driving auction cars to a new location.

12. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
Take my baby to the emergency room. (Oh, me too, Danette. That’s scary stuff for sure!)

13. What’s one thing that really bugs you?
Sunday drivers! The sign says 55 mph, not 40 mph!

14. What’s one thing you’re really proud of?
My children, of course! And Violet Raines! But if I can name only one thing, it would have to be my children, who’ve read Violet Raines.

15. What’s the last thing you Googled?
Siobhan Parkinson! I didn’t want to misspell her name.

16. Where’s the farthest place from home you’ve travelled?
Turkey.

17. What’s your idea of a perfect vacation?
The one I just took—me and my family and a beautiful cabin set by itself in two hundred acres on a ridge in the Smokies.

18. What’s your favourite sports team?
The YMCA basketball teams my sons are on.

Thanks a lot, Danette, lol – now I’ve got this stuck in my head:

19. What’s up next for you writing-wise?
Revisions! I’m polishing up The Hotel of Blueberry Goodness, which comes out with Walker BFYR in 2010; then I’ll put finishing touches on Me and Jack, Walker 2011.

20. What’s your favourite piece of advice for writers?
Writers write.

Thanks, Shari! This was the funnest interview ever!

Thanks so much for being here, Danette!