rgz Seattle HOST: The Pen Fatale Tour

Here's another entry from our Seattle HOST, Stephanie Guerra! Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012.

Hi girlz!

The Pen Fatale tour stopped in Seattle and I enjoyed a fun night at Third Place Books with Mary Pearson (The Fox Inheritance), Gabrielle Zevin (All These Things I’ve Done), Alyson Noel (Dreamland) and Jessica Brody (My Life Undecided).

My camera decided to die just as the ladies started speaking, so I don’t have any pictures to share, but check out these lovely book covers, instead. 

I love hearing authors describe the conception of their stories, and the round-up was particularly fun this time:

Jessica Brody admitted (shame-facedly) that she was watching The Hills when she came up with the idea for My Life Undecided. She became so irritated with The Hills characters for their poor decision making that she thought the audience should be able to vote on their choices. She decided to build a story around the idea, in which her indecisive main character blogs about her life and agrees to make decisions based on an audience vote. Fun premise!  And Brody has actually put it into action, on her website, www.mylifeundecided.com, where members can anonymously post questions for a group vote.

Gabrielle Zevin found the inspiration for her story in 2008, when the economy was taking a nosedive. On a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a ticket seller told her, “You should give more than the suggested contribution, because we might go under any day now.” This made Gabrielle wonder what the future might look like if the arts and libraries were no longer funded, and if each year things got a little worse instead of a little better. Then she threw in a mob family, and some laws against chocolate, and All These Things I’ve Done was born.

Mary Pearson’s conception story is moving and thought-provoking. When her daughter was diagnosed with a “good” kind of cancer, for which treatment was effective, Mary wondered: what if her daughter had been born fifty years ago, when the treatment didn’t exist? And what kind of medical technologies might be possible fifty years in the future? She began to research, and found that futurists are predicting computers advanced enough to scan and upload human minds, which became the seminal idea for The Fox Inheritance.

Alyson Noel told a story I think many authors can relate to. She found herself so drawn to Riley, a character in her Immortals series, that she had to develop a spin-off series around her. Riley kept popping up in The Immortals wearing crazy outfits, speaking funny lines, and Alyson found herself giving a secondary character more time and attention than she’d expected. She said it was very difficult to remove Riley from the story, and at that point, she knew she’d have to give Riley her own story to tell.

And finally, here’s what you can look forward to from these wonderful authors:

Jessica Brody’s next book, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, will be coming out next year. She assured us she does not hate her father, like the spoiled heiress in this book, whose father delays her inheritance and insists that she work a different low-wage job each week for a year. She also has a fantasy trilogy in the works.

Alyson Noel will continue the Riley Bloom series, and she gave us some exciting insights into Whisper, in which Riley goes to Ancient Rome and becomes enchanted with the excess and glamour of the time.  Apparently there’s a fight with a Gladiator ghost! Good stuff.

Gabrielle Zevin is working on a sequel to All These Things I’ve Done. It continues the story of the futuristic organized crime family, and it takes place in Mexico, where chocolate is legal. I love that Gabrielle is exploring what it’s like to be a girl in a family/social structure that typically disenfranchises women. As she put it, “When women try to claim any power in the Mob, they get slapped around.” I’m glad somebody is talking back to that.

Mary Pearson is working on the third and final installment in the Fox Trilogy, tentatively titled Fox Forever. She said any more info than that would be a spoiler. Whatever it is, I know we're all looking forward to it.

rgz Seattle HOST: with Alexa Martin and Amber Kizer

Here's a great entry from our Seattle HOST, Stephanie Guerra! Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012.

 

Hi girlz!

I recently went to see Alexa Martin (Girl Wonder) and Amber Kizer (7 Kinds of Ordinary Catastrophes, Gert Garibaldi’s Rants and Raves: One Butt Cheek at a Time, Meridian, Wildcat Fireflies) promote their new books at Third Place in Seattle. It was a fun, intimate evening, with lots of great information from the authors about their inspirations, vices, and writing processes. Here are some fun facts:

Alexa’s vice is Louisiana style coffee, which is mostly cream and sugar. Amber says hers is “food, and I’m not a vegetarian. Baked goods.”  I loved hearing that! I’m always comforted by women who like caffeine and pastries as much as I do.

Alexa shared a fascinating story about her formative writing experiences. She was diagnosed early with a learning disability, and went through school feeling “less intelligent” than the other kids. Special education helped her achieve success in literacy, and in fact, she began to overcompensate for her disability, producing “very clean copy.” I can attest to that. Her writing is crisp and clear, with her verbs doing most of the work.  When she uses an adjective, it’s the perfect one. What an amazing example for anyone struggling with a learning disability.

Amber told us about her inspiration for one of the settings in Wildcat Fireflies.Helios is a restaurant she visited many times with her family, and over the years, she formed a bond with the owner. When this woman was fighting cancer, Amber told her that Wildcat Fireflies would be “her” book. The owner then revealed that she’d made a bucket list, and one of her dreams was to leave something lasting. With Amber’s book dedication, she felt she could check off this dream.

It was also inspiring to hear about writing process from these two very different authors. Amber aims to produce ten new pages of work each day, while Alexa works more slowly, piecing together memories and weaving them into her books. I’ve heard these two types of writers termed “gushers” and “bleeders” (sorry if that’s a bit dark) and I’d say these ladies each fit one of the categories. You should have seen Amber’s storyboard, which is an organized miracle of boxes, numbers, and different colored marker. Alexa, on the other hand, prefers to work more organically.

Finally, both ladies shared a “Top Thirteen” book list in honor of Banned Books Week, which I’ve included below. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll check out these talented writers, if you haven’t done so already!

Alexa loves:

This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

For Esme, with Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger

Forever by Judy Blume

Watership Down by Richard Adams

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt

And Amber’s favorites:

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

Izzy Willy Nilly Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt

rgz Seattle HOST: Stephanie Guerra and the YA Extravaganza!

Here's a great entry from our Seattle HOST, Stephanie Guerra! Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012. Take it away, Stephanie!  

Last night, Third Place Books held a YA extravaganza hosting six local authors: Suzanne Young (A Need so Beautiful; The Naughty List), Lisa Schroeder (The Day Before), Eileen Cook (The Education of Hayley Kendrick), Mandy Hubbard (Ripple), Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder; Desires of the Dead) and Cat Patrick (Forgotten).

All of these fabulous authors were warm, funny, and engaging as they took Q and A’s and did some great giveaways. Here are a few fun quotes on inspiration:

Eileen Cook on The Education of Hayley Kendrick: “More people are killed by falling vending machines than shark attacks. I wanted a risk adverse character who would worry about things like this.”

Eileen

Cat Patrick on Forgotten: “My twins were five months old and in the middle of an activity in the kitchen, and I forgot what I was doing. I started to think about how tough it would be to have amnesia, especially in high school. And then I wondered what it would be like if people could remember things in the future…”

Kim Derding said her husband gave her the idea for The Body Finder with the simple question, “What if there was a kid who could find dead bodies?”

Mandy

Suzanne Young found the idea for A Need So Beautiful  when she was offered inspiring words by a stranger after receiving the terrible news that a family member was dying. The incident made her wonder about angels, and the ways that a single sentence can change a person’s life.

And some great advice for aspiring authors!

“Don’t be afraid to get in there and play. You don’t know what you’re good at until you try.” –Lisa Schroeder

“After you’ve written something, walk away for awhile and then come back with truly fresh eyes.” –Cat Patrick

“Continue to write. Sometimes your ideas develop into other ideas that are a little bit better.” –Suzanne Young

“I have stacks of rejection letters. Want it so bad that you’re willing to keep working at it. It’s about not giving up.” –Kimberly Derting

“Give yourself permission to write crap. Crap can be fixed.” –Mandy Hubbard

“Read a lot! …and keep trying, because you don’t have anything to lose.” –Eileen Cook

Cat, Suzanne, and Lisa

And to close, a few suggestions for more great reads. These are the titles the authors offered in response to the question: “What book do you wish you had written?”

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Divergent by Veronica Roth

White Cap and Red Glove by Holly Black

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Thanks for reading, girlz. It was an amazing night all around and I hope you’ll check out some of the books by these talented ladies.

~Stephanie

rgz HOST: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!

Hey, readergirlz!

What a great Sunday! I just got home from Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, where I and rgz Postergirl Jackie Parker got to hear Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl talk about and read from Beautiful Creatures!

Highlights:

Kami and Margaret are long-time friends who came up with the idea for Beautiful Creatures over Mexican food and refill after refill of Diet Coke.

They proceeded to actually write the book based on a dare from Margaret's daughter.

Margaret's daughter and her lucky friends passed the book among themselves as first readers, and helped shape the plot by asking questions Margaret and Kami hadn't thought of.

Both ladies write everything in the book, back and forth, going over and over each others' work. They even lose track of who wrote exactly what.

The movie rights have sold, a script is in the works, and a big-time director is attached.

There will be a sequel! Kami and Margaret will announce more soon, but for now, all they're saying is it'll come out this fall. Watch this blog for more info!

Also, stop by Caster Girls, the official fan site for Beautiful Creatures, to get in on the Beautiful Creatures Unlock the Curse Contest, in which you can win the locket from the book--handmade by the authors! The contest involves answering questions about six books: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Tithe by Holly Black, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, and Rampant by Diana Petrefreund. Being a readergirl comes in handy sometimes! Don't worry if you haven't read all six books because you can work in teams (see link for all the details).

I'm sad to say that my camera was being moody, so I got mostly blurry shots (I'm sure you're relieved to see that my traditional Liz with Author pic, below, came out fine), but I wish they'd all turned out well because Jackie and I also ran into Street Team Sarah and soon-to-debut author of The Body Finder Kimberly Derting!

Okay, gotta get back to reading Beautiful Creatures now! It's so much fun!

See you soon!

Rgz HOST: Suzanne Selfors!

Hello again, Readergirlz!

I've got two new books on my pile that I can't wait to read: Saving Juliet and Coffehouse Angel , both by the fabulous Suzanne Selfors.

I got to meet Suzanne last night at Third Place Books. What a delightful event! A bunch of people sat around, with yummy coffee cake made by the bookseller, and listened to Suzanne talk about her writing life and read from Coffehouse Angel. From what I heard, I know that lots of you will love this book -- who's read it so far? I'm excited to dig in, especially because it's set in a fictional town based on a real town that's close to Seattle! And because there's an angel in it who I'm pretty sure is also kind of a hunk. Or a hottie. What word are we using these days?

Big news about Suzanne's Saving Juliet: Film rights have sold to Disney! Woo!

Here's my now-classic Photo of Liz with Author:

Know a girl who's still a tad young for Suzanne's YA books? Have her check out To Catch a Mermaid and Fortune's Magic Farm. They're guaranteed to please!

See you all soon . . . and if you're in Seattle, meet me at the Ballard Library at 3:00 on Saturday to see David Levithan! If you aren't in Seattle, check here on Sunday for photos and a recap!

Rgz HOST: Justine Larbalestier!

Hello, readergirlz! What an exciting week of chats for Teen Read Week! Be sure to check out the chat transcripts if you weren't able to be there live.

It's also an exciting night in Seattle! I just got home from Third Place Books, where I enjoyed a yummy pasta dinner at a table with my trusty laptop so I could do the TRW chat, and then scooted over to The Den to listen to Justine Larbalestier.

Here I am (New hair! It's dark! Pink streaks, too, but you can't so much see them here.) with the lovely and fabulous Justine.

Imagine her with an Australian accent.

Justine's new book, Liar, is kind of hard for her to talk about because it's full of secrets and lies, and she doesn't want to spoil the end . I can NOT wait to dig in and have my own reactions, then join the hordes of readers who have taken to the internet to beg Justine to reveal the "real ending."

I still learned a lot about the book and about Justine, though. I learned that Justine thought Liar would be funny, until she started writing it. I learned that it actually came to be a bit of a commentary on sexuality in YA literature, "language" in YA literature, and even YA literature itself (So. Cool.). I learned that the Scrivener program for Mac is integral to Justine's writing process. I learned about the alternative Australian high school where Justine got to "be" Turkey and the US, for a while, and how the kids who were Iran and Iraq eventually ended up going out, very peacefully. I also learned that, in Australia, it's totally normal to put beets on your pizza.

I have to say that the most thrilling part of the evening (aside from the pizza revelation, maybe) was that there was a hefty handful of teens in the crowd. Way to go, young readers! I hope to see more of you at future book events! It's really awesome when you can fit a reading into your super-packed lives. Seriously, come in your volleyball uniform all sweaty from the match; practice your violin in the parking lot 'til the last minute. No one will mind!

Can't wait to dig into Liar, yay!