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:

Teaser Tuesday

I’ve never posted a “teaser” before, and I’m not entirely sure I want to do so now. Still, everyone seems to be doing it…. (And yes, Mom, if my friends jumped off a bridge, I’d probably do that, too. ) So, without further ado, a teaser from my WIP, to be deleted probably very soon:

[ETA: October 5 -- too late! teaser's gone]

Hmmm…. I’ll have to find a cheerier passage next time I give in to peer pressure.

Peace.

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.

Blurg: Because I Am Furniture

I just finished Thalia Chaltas‘ YA novel-in-verse, Because I Am Furniture (Viking Children’s, 2009). Here’s the blurb:

Anke’s father is abusive. But not to her. He attacks her brother and sister, but she is ignored, forced to be an invisible witness in a house of horrors. Believing she isn’t worthy of even the worst kind of attention, Anke feels about as significant as the living room sofa. Until she makes the volleyball team at school. In a sport where you have to yell “Mine!” to play the ball, Anke learns for the first time how to make herself heard.

As her confidence on the court builds, she finds a voice she didn’t know existed. And it’s not long before she realizes that if she can make people hear her while she’s playing volleyball, then maybe she can be heard at home, too.

Thalia handles the tough topic of abuse with honesty, and the verse reads smoothly, making this a quick, compelling read. Highly recommended!

(blurg=blurb in a blog)

What I read on my summer vacation

[ETA: I just noticed the top book in the pile was cut off in this pic. Such a fine photographer I am... oops. It was If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, which, btw, was an amazing book!]

Fix-It Friday

For today’s Fix-It Friday tip, Bev Katz Rosenbaum, author of I was a Teenage Popsicle and Beyond Cool, shares how she approaches a revision letter.

I do all the little things first (gives you a great sense of accomplishment right off the bat!), then tackle each of the big points one by one.  If a particular subplot needs to be expanded, say, I’ll go through the book and mark up the places where I think I could add in new subplot scenes.  Then I’ll go on to the next big point and keep marking up the manuscript.  Finally, I’ll go through the marked up manuscript and physically add in the new scenes.  Works for me!

Thanks, Bev!