Archive for April, 2008
April 29, 2008 • 9 Comments
You might find this hard to believe, but I’m only just discovering Judy Blume. I had my fav authors when I was young but she didn’t figure. I’m not sure if that’s because I lived in the UK or because from an early age I read adult books.
Anyway, I’m making up for it now. I’ve just read 6 of her books, one after the other, and she’s awesome. I love her easy laidback style and the way she deals with issues. And EVERY book has been a page turner…. much to the annoyance of my husband because I can barely utter two sentences during the evening when I’m reading!
What else……. writing has slowed a little, I’m working on a mid grade series, but really need to do a scene spreadsheet for a couple of the books before I get down to some serious writing.
I’m very excited because my friend is coming to stay tomorrow for the day/night. So lots of food, fun and maybe a movie!!! Oh, and we’ll talk about writing, of course, and maybe throw in some goss.
Oh yes, something else. I’ve just discovered a brilliant movie. I don’t know why it passed me by. Ice Princess. It’s a Disney movie and I’ve got it out on week loan from the video store. So far I’ve watched it twice. I suspect I’ll watch it at least twice more, and then I might see if I can buy it!! I get very excited it when I find movies I really love.
Lastly, I’m posting on Teen Fiction Cafe this week, talking about music, if you want to pop over!
Posted by Sara Hantz in Uncategorized @ 4:22 pm
April 23, 2008 • 6 Comments
I can’t believe we’re at the end of April. Which means…… not long before we go to San Fran and the RWA conference. I wouldn’t be lying if I said this trip is occupying our time almost every minute of every day. We (Amanda and I) have already discussed clothes, sight-seeing, shoes, food, money… and even workshops (should I be admitting our obsession…. hmmm).
We’ve also been discussing the RWNZ conference which is a couple of weeks after the RWA one. We’re doing two presentations. One to the whole conference on Internet promotion and the other a smaller workshop on writing young adult. So we’re very excited about that too.
Oh yes.. and amongst all this I’m also writing a mid-grade proposal for a series. VERY exciting!!!! I’ve been wanting to write a series for ever and suddenly a few weeks ago…. after months of deliberation, an idea popped into my head.
Finally, this week my book is being toured by GCC (Girlfriends Cyber Circuit). So far, you can see me at the following places:
I will add the others when they appear!!
Posted by Sara Hantz in Uncategorized @ 1:59 pm
April 13, 2008 • 2 Comments
I’m so excited because today I’m interviewing Megan Crane and touring her book ‘Names My Sisters Call Me’. And isn’t the cover the most awesome ever. I’m totally in love with it.
Here’s what the book’s about:
Courtney, Norah, and Raine Cassel are about as different as three sisters can get. Norah, the oldest, is a typical Type A obsessive who believes there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Six years later she has not forgiven Raine, the middle sister, for ruining her wedding day. Raine is Norah’s opposite – a wild, follow-your-bliss hippie chick who flees to California after the wedding fiasco. The only thing the two sisters have in common is their ability to drive Courtney, their youngest sister, crazy.
When Courtney’s longtime boyfriend proposes, she decides it’s finally time to call a family truce and bring the three sisters together. After all, they’re all grown-ups now, right? But it turns out that family ghosts aren’t easily vanquished, and neither are first loves. Reconnecting the sisters also means reexamining every choice Courtney has made in the past six years, right down to the man she’s about to marry.
Whether you have suffered the angst of sibling rivalry or been one of the lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) few who just watched from afar, Names My Sisters Call Me is a book that anyone with a sister, a sibling, or even a friend can appreciate.
Megan thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. First of all can you tell me what inspired the plot for your book?
I knew I wanted to write about first love versus true love, and somehow that evolved into sisters and secrets and trips to California. And my main character was suddenly and irrevocably a cellist. And here we are.
Why did you decide to write for teens?
Well, I don’t write specifically for teens. Though I think a large number of teens read my books, which is great. I think the target audience for my books is probably women in their twenties and thirties, but I have much older and much younger readers. I think books find us when they’re supposed to.
What is your writing process like?
I tend to spend periods mulling and daydreaming and stressing about how I will never write another word, and then periods of great productivity, when I set daily word or page quotas and write madly day and night. I am trying to come to terms with both.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a book that’s a bit of a departure for me, and I have about 150 pages of another 5 Spot sort of book, which needs to marinate for a while before I look at it again.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I read a lot. I go through phases where I watch a lot of television (Life, Reaper, Chuck, Journeyman– I watched a lot last fall), and phases where I read obsessively instead, and both phases are very rewarding in different ways. I spend a shocking amount of time online, to my shame. I think my life would be more fulfilling if I did something craftier, like scrapbooking. (Or like cleaning my house.)
Who do you like to read?
I’m not kidding when I say I read a lot, and I’ll read just about anything, though my favorite books are usually romance novels. I’m currently reading “The Sweet Far Thing” by Libba Bray, and I’m loving it, but I don’t want it to end!
Megan Crane is a New Jersey native who graduated from Vassar and got her MA and PhD in literature from the University of York in England. She is the author of Everyone Else’s Girl, English as a Second Language and Frenemies. She lives in Los Angeles.
Check out Megan’s website where you can read an excerpt from her book, and her blog.
Posted by Sara Hantz in Uncategorized @ 11:06 am
April 11, 2008 • 3 Comments
I’ve returned from my vacation…. bronzed, rested, slightly rounder and a tad fitter. Yes… you heard right, fitter…. despite hardly being able to draw breath without popping a cookie into my mouth.
Every day we went for a walk for at least an hour in the Noosa National Park. Which was great except for one thing STEPS!!! Now anyone who’s ever been walking with me knows I have an aversion to steps… I avoid them at all costs. So imagine my horror when I discovered the way into the National Park meant climbing 250 steps (yes we counted!) that’s TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY. Have you any idea what that’s like?????
AND…….. the apartment we stayed in, which was gorgeous, overlooked the beach and gave us fabulous views up and down the coast…. 6 flights of steps to get there (50 steps) and no elevator. (That’s not me, btw, in the photo!!)
Anyway, it all seems like a dream as I’ve been thrown into work big time, as it’s end of financial year plus I’m on the committee arranging the RWNZ conference and I’m also secretary so I have all the AGM stuff to do…. ok…. tmi… you probably don’t want to know the ins and outs of everything.
Posted by Sara Hantz in Uncategorized @ 10:27 am
I’m thrilled to announce that The Second Virginity of Suzy Green has made the 2008 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list.
