Celebrating The 125th Anniversary of THE NIGHT CIRCUS

**waves to red scarf wearing reveur** In honor of today's 125th anniversary of the Night Circus, I am excited to share an interview with Erin Morgernstern...and a chance to win a copy of her fabulous, magical debut THE NIGHT CIRCUS! For those that have not read this masterpiece, if there is one book you MUST read and experience this year, I suggest this one!

Mel: What inspired you to write a story centered around a circus?

Erin: The circus came as a surprise, I was working on a different manuscript and got bored with the story so I sent the characters to a circus and the circus was immediately more interesting. I thought it had a lot of potential to explore as far as where it came from and who its inhabitants were, it was an imaginary place I felt like spending a lot of time in, even though I’m not a big fan of traditional circuses. Mine is more like performance and installation art encased in tents.

M: Everywhere I turn, I see your beautiful, descriptive writing mentioned. What was the most enjoyable part of The Night Circus to write?

I think the whole thing was enjoyable in a way, but the actual descriptions of the circus itself were probably the most fun since they involved the most unadulterated creative freedom, deciding how each tent was arranged, how things looked or felt or what they smelled like.

M: What do you hope readers take away from reading The Night Circus?

E: I hope after finishing the book readers might take away a renewed sense of wonder, I think it’s a sense that needs renewing once in a while.

M: Your book started out as a Nanowrimo project, do you have any suggestions for those taking part in a few months?

I think the most important part is to have fun with it and not worry about every little sentence, just keep moving on to the next and the next and the next. Never delete anything, and I don’t recommend re-reading until afterward. Also, stock up on caffeine and snacks. I am fond of things that hit the salty/sweet snack cravings in one go, like chocolate-covered popcorn.

M: What role would you take on if you were to run away & join the circus?

I don’t really have any good circus skills so I’d probably end up selling tickets or something like that. If I could join my circus I think I’d like to be a living statue, but I’d need a lot of practice.

A big thank you to Random House Canada and Erin!

Guys,  there is a Night Circus game!! Click here to check it out

For your chance to win a copy of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, please fill in the form below:

An Interview With Scott Westerfeld, The End Of The Leviathan Trilogy and a Giveaway

Leviathan was the first steampunk book so it will always have a special place in my heart.  I'm not a huge fantasy reader but did enjoy reading this series. I loved the alternate universe, and with the added pictures, I was in awe at how cool the machines were...they blew my mind. The fact that Deryn was a kick butt character,  may have also have won me over ;) I had a chance to ask Scott a few question, enjoy!

Mel: Hey Scott! Thanks for taking the time to chat about Goliath, the last book in your Leviathan trilogy!

The series is steampunk mixed with an alternate WWI setting. While researching for the book, what was the most interesting fact you found and wanted to include?

Scott: I knew from the beginning that one of my characters would be the son of the Archduke Ferdinand, a teenager who would feel somewhat responsible for this huge war that his own family tragedy started. But I didn't realize when I began the book that Alek's parents had a morganatic marriage. (In other words, his mother wasn't royal enough for any offspring to inherit his father's titles.) When I discovered that, it was clearly a great YA hook: a teenager calling into question his identity and place in the world, and perhaps realizing that the whole notion of royalty that he's grown up with is at its core a bit arbitrary.

M: One of the things I loved about this series is the illustrations, something not often found in YA books. Was this something you envisioned being part of your book while writing it OR added after?

S: Keith and I worked together from the beginning. I would send him a few chapters at a time, and he would respond with sketches, and often I would rewrite based on the way he drew the events. Also, beasties or machines would often wind up with more screentime than I had planned for them, just because I'd fallen in love with how they looked. So it really was a collaboration, with Keith's visualizations influencing the flow and content of every scene.

M: When creating your own world, you also have the pleasure of making up new words & using different slang. I loved Deryn's use of barking, what was your favorite and how did they come about?

S: Most of the slang in the series is historical. My favorite is certainly "clart" for poo. It has a wonderfully Scottish lilt to it. Of my made-up terms, I think I like "monkey Luddites" the best, referring to the people who are against Darwini's fabricated creatures on principle, because it combines the historical anti-technology movement with the word "monkey," a term that makes everything more amusing. (Of course, being from the US, I'm used to having to defend Darwin from neo-Luddites as well.)

M: With Alek finding out about Deryn's true identity, how did that change your writing of her character? What things could you do/show now that you had to hold back on before?

S: Hiding the fact that she was a girl meant that Deryn could hide a lot of her own feelings as well. But once she doesn't have being a boy to hide behind, she has to face the way she feels about Alek. So in a funny way, Deryn was more comfortable pretending to be someone else than facing what she really wants. Any time you get to take character out of her comfort zone, it's a wonderful challenge.

M: Now that the series has come to an end, what character will you miss the most being inside your head?

S: Probably Deryn. She has such a joyful and practical approach to everything. She's very no-nonsense, and doesn't spend a lot of time in her own head. After writing Alek's rather brooding point of view, I was always glad to get back to her. Plus, I love writing in Scottish.

Thanks Scott, I really enjoyed this series and am sad to see it end.

------------------------

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada, one lucky reader can win a copy of Goliath! To enter, be a blog follower, leave a comment , then enter the form below.  For your viewing pleasure, I'll leave you with the  awesomeness of Leviathan:

Giveaway and Interview with David Nicholls, Author of One Day

If you are anything like me and enjoy a realistic love story with broken characters, ONE DAY is for you! It will make you laugh and cry, so be prepared with a box of kleenex.  If you haven't read my review, you can check it out here.

I recently had the chance, along with a few other bloggers, to chat with David Nicholls . It was the chance of a lifetime as I absolutely loved One Day! Not only did David write the book, he also wrote the screenplay. I've already set a 'date' with my BF, Jackie, to see this movie which comes out next week (August 19th).

For the movie, I thought finding the right chemistry between the actors would be critical. This is a love story after all, that takes place over twenty years. Also, Dexter's character growth is phenomenal. He isn't the nicest guy for a while and yet somehow in the story you still fall for him and are able to overlook his faults. Here's David's reponse:

We had to find two people who could age up and age down convincingly, two people who seemed to complement each other, two people who seemed to have a kind of spark and an attraction. Often with movies, there's a constant question through the whole writing process, which is are they sympathetic, are they likeable. Dexter in particular does some pretty harsh things and behaves quite badly in the course of the film. And I think in casting Dexter, we wanted someone who wouldn't kind of compromise on that bad behavior, but who would be comprehensible and forgivable and redeemable, who had a kind of a charm even at the lowest points. And I think Jim (Sturgess) gets that really beautifully.

Since the story takes place over twenty years, I was curious about how to show that in the movie. I am not normally one to love many pop culture references but it seemed that maybe this was the way to do it? The first day we meet Em & Dex is July 15, 1988 , but when reading the book, I felt it was more a timeless story and we just see the characters grow over the twenty years. Here's what David had to say:

There are a few of those. Definitely fashion. Weirdly, I have much stronger memories of the late '80s than I do of the early '90s, I think because I was at University. And at University, you are particularly aware of your cultural tastes and your image and that you were very keen to make a statement. So, I found '88 much easier to conjure up than '93. It took me a while to track down when I got my first mobile phone and in exactly what year.

I definitely wanted to get some of the fashion in and also some of the politics and the critical issues of the day. But, the two things that I made a conscious decision not to include were the death of Princess Diana, which obviously was a huge landmark in British culture, and 9/11, which there's a fleeting reference to a bomb attack in London. But, I couldn't find a plausible, useful way to make that part of the narrative. So, I wanted the politics and the cultural background to be correct, but I also wanted it to be the background, for it to be just the stage on which the characters perform rather than the prime subject matter.

Well David, you sure did a great job on achieving this in the book, now I can't wait to see ONE DAY on the big screen.

 Thanks so much to Big Honcho Media and Focus Features for making this possible.
One of my readers will win a great One Day prize pack, courtesy of Focus Features....

One (1) winner will receive:
·         Copy of the movie-tie in edition paperback book
·         Clear cosmetic case
·         Necklace
·         Moleskin Journal

Prizing value: $30.95

Giveaway provided by Focus Features

To enter leave a comment telling me your favorite fictional couple and fill in the ONE DAY contest form below.




In Theatres August 19

Official website          http://experienceoneday.com

Facebook                    http://www.facebook.com/OneDayMovie

Download the One Day Reader’s Guide

http://fif.s3.amazonaws.com/oneday/readersguide.pdf

Enter the GoodReads “One Day Summer Reads” Sweepstakes

http://www.goodreads.com/challenges/5

Interview Time with Eleanor Brown

If you stopped by yesterday, you will know that Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters won me over. (You can read my gushing review here.) Every once in a while, there is that perfect book that leaves you so satisfied after you turn the last page, and this book did just that. I was so excited after I devoured it, that I had to ask for an interview...my fan girl moment LOL. Thankfully Eleanor agreed, I hope you enjoy! Please give a warm welcome to Eleanor...

I found that I was comparing myself to bits of the three sisters but gravitating toward Rose, who are you most like?

I'm a little bit like all three sisters. Actually, I think most of us are. There's a little bit of us that wants safety and security, and a little bit that wants adventure. A little bit that loves drama, and a little bit that's happy to stay home with a good book. In writing each sister I was playing with those conflicting parts of myself and I hope readers enjoy finding those bits of themselves in Rose, Bean, and Cordy.

That said, I'm thrilled you saw yourself in Rose - she was tough to write because she could so easily just have been bossy and unsympathetic and I wanted other people to love her as much as I do. So I'm happy to hear that you related to her!

As a book lover, I love stories that share my love of reading (though the Rose in me came out when bookmarks weren't used!). How bookish were you growing up?

Oh, I'd drive you crazy....I'm a terrible non-bookmark-er.

I was ridiculously bookish. Always have been, still am, always hope to be. I grew up in a family where reading was the most important thing we did - individually and together. I was allowed a half hour of television a week, but I could read all the books I wanted, and, a few temper tantrums aside, that was just great. I have always loved escaping into a story - nothing brings me greater joy.

What was the draw to writing a book with Shakespearean elements? The book not really about the plays themselves, rather incorporating lines into the plot which was so unique!

Wow, thank you! There were a couple of things that drew me to Shakespeare - the first was the idea of our names and how they affect the people we become. So I wanted to give the characters names that had belonged to other people, so they would feel forced to live up to them in a way. The second was the way families communicate. Every family has its own language, and I thought this bookish family would be very likely to communicate in the words of literature they loved. Shakespeare was rich enough and I was just enough of a fan that it was the obvious choice to me.

You found the perfect lines for scenes in the book, are you that familiar with Shakespeare's works or was this aspect a huge research project on it's own?

It was an enormous research project! I think there's a certain amount of Shakespeare many of us get through cultural osmosis, and then I did a limited amount of study, particularly in graduate school. But when I decided to write the book, I did a lot of reading and re-reading and watching and re-watching and research and note-taking. A lot of that ended up not being anything but background knowledge, partly because I wanted to make the book really accessible, and partly because I realized these characters have been hanging around with Shakespeare for so long they don't need to have conversations about motifs of light and dark in Hamlet. They would have had those conversations ages ago and moved on. But there are notebooks full of research I did happily sitting on my bookshelves in case I need them again!

Having tackled anthologies, journals, magazines, newspapers & most recently NY best selling novel, what's next?

I'm really enjoying writing novels, so I think I'll stick with that for a while. I'm very superstitious about talking about works in progress, so I'll just say I've been doing a lot of thinking about love and marriage and divorce and how all those things fit together. We'll see how it goes!

Thanks for stopping by Eleanor, I can't wait to find out more about your next project!

Thank you so much for inviting me for a visit!

Interview Time with Lauren Oliver

One of my top 10 favorite books last year was Before I Fall, Lauren's debut about a girl who dies but is able to go back to that day & relive it, each time seeing the impact she had. It was so beautiful, complex and a book that sticks with you. Lauren newest book, Delirium, is a dystopian novel with the view that love is a disease that needs to be cured. Her writing invokes a variety of emotions which is something I love, making it more like active rather than passive reading! The characters feel so real that you can't help struggle with them...and at times you also want to vent some frustration. I recently had a chance to ask Lauren a few questions about Delirium, so without further ado, please welcome Lauren to the blog!!

Where did the idea for Delirium come from?
The idea for Delirium came from an essay I read by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in which he wrote that all great books were about love or death. The next day I was thinking about that quote--particularly about how and in what form a modern love story could be told--while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was simultaneously watching a news story about a flu outbreak that had everyone freaking out about the possibility of a pandemic, and I was kind of marvelling that people so easily go into panics about reports of these diseases, and at some point the two trains of thought--love, and disease--just sort of combined in my head.

Lean's best friend Hana appeared to be more on the rebellious side. Were you a rebel growing up?
In some ways. I was always a good student and a dedicated friend. But I definitely liked to do things my way. I’m pretty stubborn. And I wore leather pants a lot! Does that make me a rebel?

Hopefully life in the future won't treat love this way. If you could live in any time period, what would you chose and why?
I mean, I would probably choose now. There are a lot of things about modern life that frighten me, it’s true, but I think people have a tendency to romanticize the past needlessly. It’s like, sure, Victorian life was good…if you were in the top 99.99 percent of the population that could afford to make it good! Most people, like, washed linens all their lives for ten dollars a year.

Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect in book #2, Pandemonium?
Okay, a teensy one…Lena will have to learn to survive in the Wilds. And some crazy stuff happens! That’s all I’m going to say.

(ok guys, I tried. If you've read Delirium the ending will leave you with a whole lot of questions, especially a big one about one character in particular!!!)

Have you read Delirium yet?

An Interview with Michaela MacColl - Day #3

I hope you are enjoying learning more about Prisoners in the Palace! Today on the blog is an interview with the author, Michaela MacColl. If you haven't already, don't forget to click on the giveaway link at the end of this post.

You have a background in history. Was being an author something you always dreamed of?

I fell into history accidentally through literature. I was reading a fabulous edition of Russian fairy tales when I needed to declare a major. I ended up designing an independent program that looked at the end of the Russian Empire and the beginning of the Soviet one from many different disciplines. To the extent that I thought about the future, I saw myself as a professor. However, two years of graduate school killed that dream! I found that to get a PhD, you had to take all the fun out of the history. Happily, I found a way to put it back in!

One of the surprises I found in your author's note was the existence of Inside Boy Jones (although portrayed differently in your book). What fascinates you the most about Inside Boy?

The 1830’s in pre-industrial England were a grim time for the poor. The very limited social safety net, poor houses, had been dismantled by a thrifty government. Instead, they put the burden on the local parishes. If you were born in Surrey, it was Surrey’s job to take care of you if you were indigent. (Sound familiar?) Of course the parishes weren’t equipped to do this and a lot of people ended up desperate.

Inside Boy is a quintessential London Cockney, who lives by his wits, both in real life and in Prisoners in the Palace. He’s found an ingenious way to let the monarchy pick up his bed and board. I found the idea of a clever character who was intimately familiar with both the streets of London and the drawing rooms of the Royal family fascinating. He has a unique perspective and specialized skills that my heroine, Liza, is quick to make use of.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

It’s a tough question, because I like my creature comforts! However, if I had to choose, I would probably pick Elizabethan England. To see Shakespeare performed as it originally was or to see the Spanish Armada sink – that would be a blast! And if I could fast forward, I think I would love to visit Prince Albert’ s Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Crystal Palace.

My BFF and I plan to one day tour the castles in Europe. Have you ever been so lucky to visit?

I lived in France for almost four years with my husband, first in the south of France and then in Paris. We had just gotten married and we didn’t have kids yet. We traveled every weekend – Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany – we went everywhere and toured as many castles as I could bully my husband into visiting. My favorite isn’t a castle, it’s the Abbey at Mont St. Michel in Normandy – put it on your list! Twice a day, the sea sweeps in and cuts it off from the mainland. Very romantic and spooky!

For Prisoners in the Palace I went to London to visit Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle. It was so important to the final book’s credibility. Of course, I had to rewrite huge chunks that I had already written to reflect what I saw.

Are you working on anything new?

I’m putting the finishing touches to my next novel, tentatively titled “ Beryl Above Africa” (I’ m almost certain that this will not be the title!). It’s about Beryl Markham, who was one of the premier female aviators of the 1830’s. She grew up in Colonial Africa when it was just being settled. Beryl was raised by the African tribe who worked for her father and she learned to hunt lion and was mauled once. She grew up to be the first to fly the Atlantic from East to West. Although she crashed, she survived to write a wonderful memoir called West Into the Night.

Thanks so much for stopping by Michaela! Don't forget you have a chance to win a copy of Prisoners in the Palace or one of 5 bookmarks:) Click here to enter!

Upcoming Toronto Event & Interview with HALO author Alexandra Adornetto

There was tons of buzz back in May/BEA time about 18 yr old Alexandra Adornetto, author of Halo. Did you know this is not her first book... she published her first book at the age of 14? Oh to be so talented at such a young age.

I have some great news to pass along for all my Toronto area readers. Alexandra will be making a tour stop here next week! Come on out to Indigo Yorkdale Monday September 27th for a chance to meet Alexandra. What an inspiration & amazing opportunity for aspiring teen writers to chat about writing!

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to ask Alexandra a few questions, I hope you enjoy!

Besides possiblly being jealous, I'm sure many readers want to know how by age 18 you've had the time to write four books & somehow keep up with school. Congrats, how do you do it?

When I wrote my first novel I was thirteen and in Grade 8 so I didn’t have too much homework to worry about. Things got a lot trickier when I started writing Halo in my final year of high school. There were quite a few instances when I had to finish a chapter and revise for an exam in the same night! Throughout most of my school-life I’ve had to manage my writing career and after a while you just learn to organise your time. My teachers were very understanding when I had to take time off to tour or do media events and my school principal fully supported my writing. So it wasn’t that bad!

Halo is not your first published novel, though this is your break into the North American market. Does it feel any different?

Halo is actually my first novel published outside Australia and it’s been sold to the USA, Canada and sixteen other international countries, so it feels very different! Up until now, I’ve been writing purely for a local market and engaging with local fans. Now I’m touring around the US and planning visits to England and Brazil next year. It’s an amazing feeling to have fans write to you from across the other side of the world. Being able to reach people on such an international scale is overwhelming and amazing.

My idea of an angel is perfection, yet in Halo Bethany appears very human. How do you envision angels in your world?

In my mind, Ivy and Gabriel are the epitome of traditional angels; they protect and watch over human-kind without engaging with them on a personal level. They are on a completely different plane of existence which is why it’s so difficult for Molly to get Gabriel’s attention. Bethany on the other hand, is a combination of the human and the divine. Her angelic nature gets all tangled
up with her human desires and emotions. In Halo, Bethany has not been around for thousands of years, like her siblings, which means she does not have the same perspective as them, but it also means that she is able to deeply connect with those around her which is powerful in itself. I had to make Bethany more human in the novel so that readers could identity with her and so that I could include my own life experiences.

There's a familiar feel to the love triangle aspect of the story that may be compared to Twilight. What do you think sets it apart and would give those that didn't necessarily like that particular series a reason to read Halo?

I don’t think a love triangle is a specifically “Twilight” trait. It appears in lots of classic novels and Shakespeare was a huge fan of love triangles or even love rectangles which were designed to engage and frustrate his audience and provide comic/tragic scenarios for his characters. However, unlike Twilight, where Bella is torn between her love for Edward and her bond with Jacob Black, Jake Thorn in Halo is more of a threat and his desire for Beth’s affection is part of his own dark and twisted nature. She isn’t battling feelings for Jake; she views him as troubled and is afraid of what he’s capable of. Apart from that, the situation is reversed in Halo with a supernatural girl falling for a human boy. Also angels and vampires are completely different characters. The angels in Halo are glorious and righteous, while the demons epitomise the dark side of humanity. Halo is a very straight-cut, classic story, I think and it deviates entirely from the blood, sex and violence themes which are prominent in most vampire-novels.

Any chance of a sneak peek at book two, Hades?

I can give you some hints!

1. Jake is back with a vengeance and he’s out to get Xavier
2. Beth is torn away from everything she loves
3. I got a little creeped out writing some scary scenes
4. The action and drama kicks into high-gear
5. Characters like Gabriel, Molly and Ivy really develop and you will meet a few new characters
6 . It’s a very different setting!

Thanks Alexandra!

Cory Doctorow On The Digital World

I wasn't able to make it to the Cory Doctorow event earlier this month but I was lucky to have an opportunity to talk to him by phone! This was my first phone interview & I owe a big thank you to both S.F. Robertson and Aly who came to my rescue and gave me some great pointers :)

So if you have a peak at Cory's bio below, you will see why I was excited (and intimidated) to have the opportunity to talk to him. His latest novel, FOR THE WIN, is "an action-adventure story about games, economics and labor politics". I am not really a gamer (I leave that for my hubby & kids) but I am a business geek. In FOR THE WIN, Cory covers many business topics & really breaks them down into something easy to understand...and fun, can you beleive that! I loved how he weaves a little eco/finance education into the story, adds in a little poli sci and given he reader a little business lesson without all the bordom of a textbook! As you can see, FOR THE WIN is not a beach read, but it is a really thought-provoking read. So of course, I had to ask Cory why a business/gamer/YA mix: he sees games and the virtual world popularity as a "natural empathy from teens to explain the weird parts in the grown up world".

What really stuck with me long after our chat was Cory's view of social networking. You hear a lot about how kids are spending too much online & not enough time in 'normal' social settings, not so for Cory. To him, "life as a teen as constrained - they don't go out to play anymore as parents hear scary stories, hanging around the food courts is not allowed, and so these networks emerged". As a parent, I totally see this, just now allowing my son, at age 8, to go ride his bike with a friend around the neighborhood, something I recall doing at age 4 or 5! The other day, while my son was playing a few games on the internet he asked me if he could have a Facebook account, yikes!

I loved this article by Cory a couple of years ago about writing YA, so couldn't help but share: Nature's Daredevils: Writing for Young Audiences. My favorite part: "That's one of the most wonderful things about writing for younger audiences — it matters. We all read for entertainment, no matter how old we are, but kids also read to find out how the world works. They pay keen attention, they argue back. There's a consequentiality to writing for young people that makes it immensely satisfying." See, YA isn't just fluff :) I could have picked Cory's brain for hours, he is really a very well-spoken, kind person and I really appreciate that he took the time to chat with me.

About the author:

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger -- the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of the or Teens/HarperCollins UK novels like FOR THE WIN and the bestselling LITTLE BROTHER. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

About the book:
In the virtual future, you've got to organize to survive.

At any hour of the day or night, millions of people around the globe are engrossed in multiplayer online games, questing and battling to win virtual gold, jewels, and precious artifacts. Meanwhile, others seek to exploit this vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the world’s poorest countries, where countless “gold farmers,” bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay.

Mala is a brilliant 15-year-old from rural India whose leadership skills in virtual combat have earned her the title of “General Robotwalla.”

In Shenzen, heart of China’s industrial boom, Matthew is defying his former bosses to build his own successful gold-farming team. Leonard, who calls himself Wei-Dong, lives in Southern California, but spends his nights fighting virtual battles alongside his buddies in Asia, a world away. All of these young people, and more, will become entangled with the mysterious young woman called Big Sister Nor, who will use her experience, her knowledge of history, and her connections with real-world organizers to build them into a movement that can challenge the status quo.

The ruthless forces arrayed against them are willing to use any means to protect their power—including blackmail, extortion, infiltration, violence, and even murder. To survive, Big Sister’s people must out-think the system. This will lead them to devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once—a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant hack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all.

An Interview with Shari Maurer

Today I am excited to have an interview with Shari Maurer. Her debut novel, Change of Heart, was recently released. It is a powerful story that covers a tough subject and may take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. I love the overall message it leaves you with. Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to Shari!

Can you tell us about Change of Heart?

Change of Heart is about Emmi, a 16 year old soccer player, who gets sick and finds she needs a heart transplant. In the process, she learns about life, love and the meaning of true friendship.

As a mom, was the subject difficulty at times to write about? Do you think it also helped the depth of emotions expressed in the book?

I'm not just a mom, but a mom of a child who was born with a heart defect. While that is nothing like the fear associated with having a heart transplant, I certainly can understand what the whole family was experiencing. My daughter is fine now, but that worry never goes away. Being a mom definitely helps me write the depth of emotions--both for Emmi and also for her brothers and parents.

What do you hope people take away with them after reading Change of Heart?

I want people not to take good health for granted and to appreciate their friends and family. I'm a "look on the bright side" kind of person and I think it's easy to get caught in all that's "wrong" in your life, but much healthier to focus on all that's "right."

I was surprised to see this statistic: "90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor." (via donatelife.net). I'm sure your research for the book lead you to many more. For those interested in learning more about how to become a donor, where should they start?

Like Emmi, there are thousands of people waiting for organs. I hope you never need it, but if something horrible happens, it would be great if you could help save several lives. You can get more info on this at www.donatelife.net.

What are you working on now?

I just finished the first draft of a new book. It takes place in summer camp and examines the question "When is it okay to lie?" It needs a lot of work, but I'm really excited by its potential.

About the book:
In a world where the most stressful thing seems to be winning a soccer game or what to wear in the morning, you take some really basic things for granted.

Like the love of your parents.

Or hanging with your friends.

Or the beating of your heart.

When you’re 16 years old, it never occurs to you that you might die. Emmi Miller’s got a fabulous life. She has tons of friends, does great in school and is an all-star soccer player who played in Europe last summer. It even looks like Sam Hunter, a totally cute baseball player, might be interested in her. And then she gets a virus. No biggy, right? Until the virus goes to her heart and weakens it so much that, without a transplant, Emmi will die.

Will Emmi get a heart in time? Is Sam too good to be true? What about her new friend Abe, who has also had a transplant and guides her through these scary times — is he just being supportive or is there more going on between them? And will Emmi realize it before it’s too late?

About the author:

I am a YA writer who grew up in New City, NY and came back to raise my family there. I went to undergrad at Duke University and grad school at NYU, studying English and Dramatic Writing and yelling loud at basketball games. After school, I spent six years at the Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), working on international versions of Sesame Street and other kids’ programs. I met my husband, Mat, at sleepaway camp when we were 17 and there are times we still wish we were back at camp. My three kids, Lissie, Josh and Eric make me laugh and have been my biggest fans. Life is good.

An Interview with Christine Johnson

I recently had a chance to talk to Christine Johnson about her debut, Claire de Lune. Please give a warm welcome to Christine. This week you have a chance to win a SIGNED copy of Claire de Lune (CAN/US only), OR one of six signed bookplates (open internationally!) by filling out the form here. Don't forget you get an extra entry for each thoughful comment (see her answer to my last question today!)

In your own words, tell us about the book

This is a much harder thing to do than it seems like, but here goes: CLAIRE DE LUNE is about a girl who discovers, on her sixteenth birthday, that she’s the latest in a long line of female werewolves. With a rogue wolf on the loose, her boyfriend’s dad leading the werewolf hunt, and her new identity to adjust to, Claire has to overcome huge challenges if she’s going to save her new-found pack . . . and herself.

In Claire de Lune, you have created an interesting take on the werewolf. What was your inspiration?

I thought it would be really interesting to write a book about a girl who was a werewolf, and it really all grew pretty organically from there. I thought it would be *more* interesting if all the werewolves were women - if there *couldn’t* be a male of the species. I spent a long time reading everything I could find about traditional werewolf mythology and then I turned a lot of it on its head, which was really fun. So much of the traditional lore is very male-centric - I wanted to come at it from a different (female) perspective.

My favorite scene to read was when Claire is in the forest, checking out her new skills. What was your favorite to write?

It’s REEEEAaally hard to talk about my favorite scene without being spoiler-y. But there’s a part near the end, when Claire has a big fight with someone who has been very important to her, and that fight has HUGE ramifications for Claire. It was a hard scene to write, because so much hinged on it, but when it finally came together, it was the *most* satisfying.

Did you ever have a boyfriend but kept him a secret from your family/friends?

Not that I can remember . . . but in high school, my serious boyfriends were always older guys who either didn’t go to my school or were in college. Honestly, they were all great guys (not that there was a huge roster of them or anything,) but I remember being sort of jealous of the girls who could slip notes to their boyfriends in between classes, or sit together in the caf at lunch. So I do know that feeling of having a boyfriend who’s sort of absent from one part of your life, even if none of mine were ever a secret.

What are you working on now?

I juuuuust handed in the first draft of the sequel for Claire de Lune, which will be out sometime next summer. It’s untitled . . . I’m working on that. I hate titles. I think they’re HARD. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them!

To learn more about Christine & Claire de Lune, visit www.christinejohnsonbooks.com

An Interview with Lesley Anne Cowan (plus Giveaway)

I am so excited to have Lesley Anne Cowan with us today. She is the author of Something Wicked which is released next week. It is a dark, realistic look and not the typical Happily Ever After that you know I love (see, I love all things happy & so when I see someone struggling I need to fix it). Her book concentrates on Melissa, a young girl who has lost her sense of self-worth (or maybe never really had any to begin with?) and her struggles. It struck a nerve with me, having friends dealing with issues over the years and my natural instinct to try and help. I am so happy that Lesley gave us this rare glimpse into Melissa's look on life and hope others can learn from this amazing story. Here is the link to my review. Now for the fun part, the interview!

Can you tell us about Something Wicked

Something Wicked is a young adult literary novel about a sixteen year old girl named Melissa. It deals with contemporary issues surrounding female sexual empowerment and identity, substance abuse, and the complex relationships between mothers and daughters. It is meant to be a stark, honest, provoking story that explores the teenager psyche and unveils the shocking realities of today’s sexually engaged youth.

When reading Something Wicked, Melissa felt so real. I think many people will find they can connect with her, be it themselves or people they know... even if their troubles aren't half as bad. How were you able to connect so strongly with Melissa? (I'm assuming that your work with at-risk kids provides some invaluable insight)

I think you’re right about how my work with young women helps to make my writing voice realistic. Not many people (including ‘normal’ secondary teachers) spend 6 hours a day with the same 8 teenagers in a small room! Such close quarters inevitably lead to some kind of osmosis, I guess. Though none of my characters (or the things that happen to them) are based on real people, Melissa’s character is very, very common in my world. In fact, in both Something Wicked and my first book As She Grows I had to tone things down for fear of sounding too sensationalistic. In reality, the true lives of these young women are often more violent and disturbing.


As a writer, how do you prepare yourself for writing about a dark/angry/depressed character like Melissa?

I don’t feel I prepared at all. Melissa’s voice just arrived on the page like that. Again, I suppose it’s a familiar voice that I hear each day. I suppose writing teen fiction is a little cathartic for me – gives me a place to work out my thoughts related to a rather emotionally loaded job. As well, I think it helps that my general writing/author voice is rather ‘detached’. I think my protagonists (adult or youth) will always have this sort of emotional detachment. Part of the reason why is that I probably have a similar emotional detachment in myself. The other part of the reason why (I believe) is because I work full-time (7 hrs day) and write full-time (3-4 hrs day). Having to constantly go in and out of a manuscript creates a distance between my characters and me.

There are a number of important messages in Something Wicked and wisdom from her Uncle Freestyle. "if you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat"(pg 73) and "you decide to be happy. It's a decision"(pg 153 of ARC). What do you hope your readers take away with them after reading Something Wicked?

I liked writing Uncle Freestyle’s wisdom! It allowed me to put the quotes I personally enjoy into the manuscript. Some of those quotes (like the one about the lion and gazelle) came from my father.

What do I hope readers will take away? In both Something Wicked and As She Grows, I wanted to draw a new picture of hope for struggling young women, both for those teens like my protagonist and for those who pass her by on the street. I want readers not to make a quick judgment. I’d like them to look beyond a typecast and understand that hope is found in the many small upward steps on a very long journey toward adulthood.

I think this is an important message for teens. They see too many movies and sitcoms (and books) where problems are clearly wrapped up in a half hour or so. When you’re a teenager, some days are good and you take two steps forward. Then some days are bad and you take twenty steps back! One of the most common questions I get as a teacher of drug-addicted students is: “Do they change?” -- As in, did I fix them? When I first started the job, I think I was looking for this clear evidence of change as well. But now, I realize that change and growth are passed on in little bits that you hope, one day, will help add up to a whole.

Something Wicked deals with a tough subject. Who would you say your book is geared towards: parents (so they may have a better understanding of what teens are experiencing) or teens (so that they know they are not alone)?

This is a really great question because it gets to the heart of something I struggle with in regards to the adolescent fiction industry. Does your book have to change that much when you gear it toward teens instead of adults? It’s a question I often ask young people when I’m at a reading or workshop. I really feel that teen fiction (over 14 – not tween!) should be associated more with adult fiction now, rather than ‘children’. That covers everything from placement of books in the bookstores to editors specializing in teen/adult instead of teen/children. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be a slight difference between teen fiction and adult. I think it’s still important to recognize the teen reader’s maturity level. But unfortunately, the age of innocence has risen and by the time a teen is fifteen or so, s/he is exposed to so much through media, it seems that literature should keep up to speed.

My first novel, As She Grows, was published as adult literary fiction in 2003. It was re-released as adolescent fiction in 2009. I find that interesting because I never intended for teens to read it (which is why they liked it so much). Something Wicked, however, was written specifically for teens (to answer your question!). So I’m interested how the two will compare. While writing Something Wicked, knowing a teenager was going to read it, I had to constantly fight that instinctual ‘adult’ voice that told me to make my protagonist ‘do the right thing’ or ‘solve all her problems’. I found it intriguing how strong this sense of obligation to be a moral guide for my readers was, simply because I was aware of my targeted reading audience. I fought that ‘sheltering’ urge as much as possible while writing Something Wicked but I still think As She Grows was a more ‘carefree’ story while Something Wicked holds something back.


To find out more about Lesley and her books, check out: lesleyannecowan.com

You're all invited to the book launch party!

Lesley Anne Cowan in conversation with Emily Pohl-Weary

Saturday June 5, 2pm (Doors Open 1:30pm) FREE

Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen Street West

Can a sixteen year-old girl beat the odds and rise above a bad situation? Sure, but what if fairy tales don’t come true? How does a young woman surrounded by ugliness find beauty in her life and in herself?

To celebrate the launch of Something Wicked, Lesley Anne Cowan will discuss writing and working with at-risk youth with noted author Emily Pohl-Weary. An extended Q&A will follow the conversation.

A Small Print Toronto event presented by Penguin Group Canada, Gladstone Hotel and Torontoist.com

And thanks to Penguin Canada, I have one copy to giveaway! Please fill out the form below :)

Interview with Joëlle Anthony

I am excited to have Joëlle Anthony, a fellow Canadian, on the blog today! Her debut novel, Restoring Harmony, was released just last week. I've included a mini review below as well below. Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to Joëlle!


Can you tell us about Restoring Harmony

Well, it’s a story about aliens invading the Earth by taking over Starbucks and putting mind altering drugs in the espresso…just kidding! That’s old news!

Actually, the book is a story about family, music, a bit of romance, and a big adventure. Here’s the book blurb from my publisher:
The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

Although set in 2041, with mentions of products that don't yet exist, when reading I found I couldn't help but also think about the past (Depression, prohibition) and present (how we rely so heavily on power sources, oil, electricity). I wonder if life could easily turn into that found in Restoring Harmony...although in the end, going back to the basics, having love and family all around you doesn't seem like such a bad thing! What inspired you to write Restoring Harmony?

Well, I think you’re right when you say going back to things like family and hard physical work are actually good things. My husband and I are doing more of that every day – growing our own food, volunteering in the community, trying to help make our lives and our island more self-sufficient. I wrote a lot of the book while we were making these changes to our lifestyle, so it’s hard to say what inspired what? I guess the idea of what we’re trying to do every day influenced the book, and vice versa.

The Fiddle was Molly's little piece of home & the only constant throughout her journey. Why did you chose the fiddle?

In a way, a fiddle was sort of an odd choice for me to make because my husband plays practically every stringed instrument except the fiddle. You’d think I would’ve chosen something he could be my musical expert on, wouldn’t you? I think, initially, I chose it because it’s portable. You think guitars are portable until you start carrying one around! Fiddles are perfect for traveling. Also, I played violin as a child, so I already had some familiarity with it. And many of our friend play fiddle, so I planned to ask them for help, but in the end, I met Sarah Tradewell, the teen fiddler who looks exactly like Molly (my main character) and she became the fiddle expert for my book, so it all worked out beautifully. She’s also in the trailer and recorded some of the tunes with my husband, and even wrote Brianna’s Reel, which is a fictional tune in the book!

In the book the phrase "the house always wins" comes up many times, but inside the book, there is a lot of good overpowering the bad. I'm a huge Happily Ever After, glass is half full person, are you?

Totally. I LOVE happy endings. Not Disney ones, but the incomplete-but-with-lots-of-potential ones. I like the kinds of endings that are a bit of a tidy up, but really more like happy beginnings and so the reader (or me) can continue to imagine the next bit on her own.

What can we expect next from you?

My next book is called THE RIGHT & THE REAL and it’s also from Putnam. I think it will be out in 2012, but it doesn’t have a definite release date yet. I’ve written the first draft and handed it in, so I guess you could say we’re in the editing process. It’s about a teen girl whose father gets mixed up in a religious cult and when she refuses to join, he kicks her out on the street. The book is really about how she survives and like RESTORING HARMONY, it’s a bit of an adventure.

About the author:

Joëlle currently lives on a tiny island in British Columbia with her musician husband, Victor Anthony. As for the future, their only plan is to avoid real jobs, write and play guitar in front of the wood stove, and live happily ever after. Look for her debut novel, Restoring Harmony, in May 2010 from Putnam. Check out joelleanthony.com for more information.

My Rating: 4 / 5

My Thoughts:

The main character, Molly, was wonderful to read about. At time her age shows and she is naive but I loved that she remained focused, determined to what she set out to do given the obstacles she encountered. Spill, the boy who helps Molly, comes from the wrong side and yet shows there is so much more to him. At times I wasn't sure how much to trust him/his circumstances but by the end his actions left me wanting to read more. Joëlle has created an interesting world in Restoring Harmony that left me appreciating the simple things in life and for that alone I am so happy to have read it!

My Interview with Jeri Smith-Ready & your chance to ask too!

For those that don't know yet (gasp!), can you tell us what Shade is about?

Okay, here’s my amateur short version (not the extended magical marketing remix):
16-year-old Aura can see ghosts. Then again, so can everyone around the world who was born after her. In fact, they have a word for the moment of her birth: the Shift. Aura suspects that the Shift might be connected to her missing mystery dad and an event that happened at Newgrange tomb in Ireland a year before her birth.

Ghosts can be annoying at their best. At their worst, as dark, powerful "shades," they can be deadly. So Aura's major goal in life is to undo the Shift and make the ghosts go away.

And then, her boyfriend dies and becomes a ghost.

You have written many amazing adult fiction books with Shade being your first foray into YA. Was Shade started as YA or did it evolve that way?

It originally started as an idea for a world where the existence of ghosts had been proven, and a law firm that specialized in wrongful death suits. As tickled as I was by my cheesy tagline, “I sue dead people,” the idea went nowhere without a main character or a compelling story to give it life. (Besides, I know zilch about law, so it wouldn’t have gotten far. It wasn’t until the main character of 16-year-old Aura Salvatore came into the picture that the story took off. I thought hey, what if all people her age and younger could see ghosts? And then the biggest part of the story of all: what if her boyfriend died and become a ghost?

SHADE wasn’t my first attempt at writing YA, though. I wrote another YA (about the daughters of fallen angels Lucifer and Beelzebub as high school seniors) in between my other books, in bits and pieces from 2003 to 2006. But when it came time to revise it for submission in 2008, I realized it pretty much sucked (well, the first half of it, anyway). By that point, I already had the idea for SHADE and was really excited about it, so I decided to do that instead. Sometimes you just have to know when to drop a project and move on.

Having written for both adult & YA audiences, what was the hardest/easiest about writing YA?

In some ways, writing YA is easier. I get to focus on the elements of storytelling I enjoy most and that I think I’m best at: character development and voice, especially dialogue. Writing for teens usually requires a faster pace, and I’m all for that. Whether I’m writing for adults or teens, I believe in following Elmore Leonard’s #1 rule of writing: leave out the boring parts.

The hardest part of writing YA for me is cutting down on the plot digressions. Especially with a book like SHADE where the whole society has changed because of ghosts, it’s so tempting to geek out and explore all the different world-building aspects. My editor does a great job of telling me when I’m losing focus from the main characters and their conflicts. Also when I’m getting too James Bond-ish.

In Shade, the colors purple & red are significant, why were these colours chosen?

The color concept is based on the visible light spectrum—though I don't specifically mention it in the book—where violet and red lie at opposite ends. Red corresponds with the first “chakra” (or energy center, in traditional Indian medicine), located at the base of the spine, where it represents life and the physical world. Violet is associated with the seventh chakra, at the top of the head, representing pure thought. Though I’d chosen obsidian because of its use by ghost hunters, I later discovered that the rock corresponds to the color red and the first chakra. Score one happy world-building accident!

How many books are planned for this series?

There will be at least two (SHIFT is coming out next May). I hope there’ll be three or four ultimately, but of course that depends on my publisher wanting more, which of course depends on readers supporting the series. This doesn’t just apply to my books—if you love an author, buy their books and tell all your friends! Otherwise the publishers won’t know how loved they are, and next thing you know, no more books. :-(

Can you give us a sneak peak at what to expect in book #2, Shift?

SHIFT picks up right after SHADE finishes, and you won’t believe how Chapter One ends! Aura faces a whole new unimaginable dilemma in her choice between Logan and Zachary. As Zachary puts it, “We need to redefine the word ‘impossible.’”

But Aura does find out all about her mom and dad and the mystery of the Shift. The question is, what does she do with that information? And that leads us into a possible third and fourth book.

Ahhh, as if I wasn't already dying to read Shift!

Thanks so much for having me on your blogs! I love to hear from readers, so come visit me at www.jerismithready.com, or better yet on twitter @jsmithready or http://www.facebook.com/jerismithready, where I spend way too much time.

And thanks for writing amazing books & sharing them with us!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you have enjoyed the week so far. Today is the last day to enter the contest for a SIGNED copy of Shade courtesy of Jeri! (Click here to enter)

Now for the fun interactive part...Jeri will be checking in with us today so if you have any questions for her, just type it up in a comment below!

Interview Time with Judith Graves

Tell us a bit about The Skinned series. Where did the idea come from?

Skinned was a long time brewing. Between working full time as a library technician, playing in a folk-rock band, and life in general – I’d write scenes, picking away at this idea of different mythological beasties converging on one small town. After reading about a Cree creature, the Windigo, things began to fall into place, and I decided my main character would be a shapeshifter. From there – Eryn pretty much took over. ;)

There are three books: Under My Skin (UMS), Second Skin and Skin of My Teeth.

Eryn is such a unique spelling, how do you come up with your character names?

Ah….the “y” in her name…lol…there’s actually a story to that. In an early draft of UMS, I had her name as “Erin”. She had this snarky line about how writers add “y”s to words to make them gothic – like “vampyre” for example. The line got nixed along the way, but the spelling of Eryn’s name is ever an inside joke to keep me from thinking too much of my writing. ;)

Have you ever experienced anything supernatural in your life?

If you go to the Class of 2k10 blog (http://www.classof2k10.com/) during my book launch, you’ll hear all about a wicked little incident with a doll my aunt gave me once. Nuf said.

Did you find any characters taking on a life of their own & deviating from your outline?

Yes! You sound like you have experience with this yourself. Tell me, Mel – how the hell do you keep your characters in line? Got any tips to share? While I do find out all kinds of nifty things about the Redgrave crew as I’m writing, it would be nice if my characters would at least pretend I’m the boss.

Who was you favorite character & why?

Most of my favourite characters in the Skinned series are ones that haven’t even taken the stage yet – Sebastian / Nikko / you only get a taste of Logan in UMS. Too bad, really. But in UMS, Kate is one of my go-to girls. She’s a witch who can control time. She’s very Zen and funky. I luvs her. ;)

What were your favorite authors growing up & how have they influenced your writing?

K – I know this is a Canadian cliché, but L. M. Montgomery was my fav author when I was a teen. Anne of Green Gables – the whole Anne series – was a major obsession. When we were planning our wedding, I told my husband he had two choices – either we have a Star Trek wedding (did I mention I’m a Super Nerd?!) or an Anne theme. We got hitched in Fort Edmonton Park (dressed in period costumes, rode in a horse and buggy, etc). Now that’s love. (Although I still wonder what our pictures would have looked like if we’d boldly gone…ya know?)

You worked with the amazing illustrator,Val Cox. Can you tell us a bit about the process.

Hanging out with Val was the best. Okay, we didn’t hang – I’ve still yet to physically meet her, but we talked on the phone, emailed a ton, and formed this cool collaborative vibe. Basically I searched through UMS for visual scenes and with my 10 illo limit, I targeted areas where Val’s gothic images would best used. Then we chatted about style/character personalities/physical descriptions, etc. Together we created the finished “Eryn.” Val’s idea of the funky ponytails beat my original (and clichéd) wavy auburn locks - hands down. I ended up changing the manuscript to match. Val = so damn cool. Check out her website: www.valcox.ca

This is your debut, how many books have you written?

UMS was the first.

How long did UMS take to write?

I started jotting down ideas for UMS in 2004. Sold the book in 2008, and here it is getting published in 2010.

What your first ever book was about & do you still have it?

Since UMS was my first book, I do still have my original (handwritten) notes. I also have about 7 different version of the story saved on various disks and flash drives. Just for fun, here’s the original opening (notice it’s in third person – yup, somewhere along the line I switched the story to 1^st): 

            Erin McCain stood at the bedroom window. Not that there was much to see. She’d lived in the mountains her whole life. She expected the prairies to be flat.

            But this was flat-flat.

Meh. I think the final draft has a much hookier intro.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Judith! The thought of a Star Trek wedding cracks me up!!!

Thanks for all the extra questions for those who have entered the contest. A few were answered above as I had asked them too, but the others have been passed along to Judith and her answers will be posted Friday, along with a really fun surprise and the winner of the prize pack!

There's still time to enter the contest for an Under My Skin Prize Pack - open internationally & closes Friday.

Fun times with the Class of 2K10

Ever wonder "when did you know you were an author?"

CLICK HERE to check out my fun 'interview' with the awesome authors from the Class of 2K10.

Remember what your teachers always said...don't be afraid to ask questions, as chances are others want to know the answer too. Want to know more about the group or a specific author? Leave a comment and we'll see what we can muster up for you.

Come by, say "Hi' and support these fine YA debut authors :)

Interview with Alex Bullen, author of WISH

Today, I am excited to share with you an interview with Alexandra Bullen. Her debut novel, WISH was just released this week.



Click here for a chance to win 1 0f 3 copies!



The main characters in WISH are twins. Why did you choose twins over siblings or best friends?

I have always been fascinated by the special relationship all of the twins I’ve known have seemed to share. I grew up with brothers, and, though I can’t imagine life without them, often fantasized about having a sister. Having a twin sister just seemed like the ultimate—you had somebody going through absolutely everything with you at exactly the same time.

So when I was thinking about characters, and about a girl who had lost somebody she was very close to, my thoughts immediately turned to twins. It just seemed like the most devastating hole to even begin to try and fill.

I am a huge Happily Ever After fan & love fairytales, what was your favorite growing up & do you see a trace of it appear in WISH?

I was always really afraid of fairy tales growing up. I remember watching Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and being absolutely terrified. I don’t really remember why, probably the evil queens. And something about being put to sleep for eternity. Now that I think about it, there’s a lot to be afraid of!

I did really love The Princess Bride, mostly because I was fairly certain I would grow up to marry Wesley. Not sure how that helped with WISH, but…what was it that Wesley said to Buttercup all the time? Wasn’t it “As you wish…”?

Do you have any advice that you'd like to pass along to other aspiring writers?

I think the best advice I’ve gotten is to pay attention to what inspires you, and seek it out when you’re feeling stuck. For me, reading certain passages or poems always get me thinking in a way that leads to wanting to write. For some other writers I know, it’s listening to a certain type of music, or going to a favorite museum, or even just going out for a walk. Whatever it is, I think it’s really important to know what works for you, and to take the time to do it.


Thanks Alex for taking the time to stop by!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this and many more debut author spotlights, interviews, guest posts and contests visit YA Roundup at yaroundup.blogspot.com