Archive for August, 2008

August 30, 2008 • 9 Comments

For long time readers of my blog you’ll know that I have toured both of Melissa Walker’s Violet books. And now the third one is out I’m very excited to be touring it. And what’s even more exciting is that Melissa has done a very special blog post just for me!!!!!!!

I especially LOVE the shorts and the dress with the V back!!!!

Is there life off the runway?

VIOLET IN PRIVATE (Berkley Jam Trade Paperback; August 5, 2008; $9.99) is the third novel in the series by former magazine editor Melissa Walker about Violet— the wallflower who blooms into an international modeling star—until she realizes there may be more to life than the runway…

Everyone knows her as Violet Greenfield, the supposedly cultured and worldly nineteen-year-old with sky-high confidence because she’s done fashion weeks internationally. But the truth is, modeling has done little for Violet’s self-esteem. And now that she’s finally headed to college, she’s terrified that she’ll turn back into that girl who blended into the walls all throughout high school…

Violet’s friends in fashion are only a two-hour train ride away in New York City, and they all think she’s crazy to stop modeling. But her best friend Roger hopes she’ll go back to being the girl next door. Of course, things have been weird between them ever since they kissed—and now he’s got a girlfriend. So the question is: if she’s not “Violet on the Runway” anymore, who exactly is she?

Melissa Walker has created a character that teens as well as adults can embrace and relate to. Readers have followed Violet through her highest highs and lowest lows in the modeling industry, and are eager to see how she fares as a regular teenager in college. This wonderful series is a fresh take on the real voice of one girl in the designer spotlight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

As a former editor at ELLEgirl and Seventeen magazines, Melissa Walker knows first-hand the ins and outs of the fashion world. She hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at melissacwalker.com, or at myspace.com/melissacwalker.

Melissa is available for interview, and can talk extensively about the fashion world from the insider’s view of a fashion magazine editor. And as a Young Adult writer who converses regularly with her teenage fans, she also would enjoy giving her take on the effects models and fashion have on teenage girls.

Praise for the VIOLET series:

“Part Cinderella, part girl next door, VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY is a story for any girl who ever wondered what it would be like to have her wildest dream come true.”
–New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen

“Violet is a hero for all of us wallflowers out there. A fun, fashion-filled, fast-paced read!”
–Carolyn Mackler, award-winning author of Guyaholic

“On the runway or off, Violet shines.”
–Ally Carter, bestselling author of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

“Violet is wonderfully witty and sweetly sensitive. She’s not your typical top model; she’s more like your best friend—only prettier.”
–Kirsten Kemp, author of Breakfast at Bloomingdale’s

“Violet on the Runway is a novel about fashion, but it’s also a sensitive portrait of adolescence–simultaneously funny and painful. Walker excels at characterizing those moments that we’ve all experienced, from bumbling in front of the cute boy to being misunderstood by ones parents.”
–NYLON Magazine

“This novel is a perfect read for teens who want to see what lies beneath the glossy veneer of what seems to be a picture-perfect life.”
–Family Circle

“Teens will love this fun fashion read.”
–OK! Magazine

“Take a peek into a model’s life with this hip novel!”
–Teen Magazine

“I couldn’t put it down! You’re kind of rooting for her to make it big, and kind of rooting for her to just go home before the biz ruins her.”
–Glamour

“Funny, engaging, and eye-opening, Violet on the Runway is an addictive read full of all the juicy insights about the fashion industry one could hope for, as well as meaningful layers and observations about the importance of knowing one’s self.”
–Venus Zine

melissacwalker.com
twitter.com/melissacwalker
VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY, September 2007
VIOLET BY DESIGN, March 2008
VIOLET IN PRIVATE, August 2008

August 27, 2008 • 8 Comments

So, finally I’m getting around to posting about the RWNZ conference. Which was FANTASTIC!!!!!! OMG, Margie Lawson is the most amazing presenter ever. I learnt so much. In fact, I had so many light-bulb moments I should be able to light up the whole of the southern hemisphere!!!

And our two workshops went well. In fact we earned the accolade of Noisiest Workshop for our YA workshop….. I put it down to the sugar high our participants were on after all the edible prizes we were distributing!!!

Anyway, so here are some pics…. I didn’t take that many, but luckily I have friends who did….

Amanda, Me, Margie Lawson, Christina Phillips

Me and Deborah Challinor

Our illustrious photographer, Clare!

Most of the Conference Committee - Kris, Bron, Diana, Gracie, Rachel, Giovanna, Me

Our workshop - don’t be fooled by the knowledgeable look on Amanda’s face….. I’m feeding her all her lines…..

The Executive at the cocktail party (hence some of them being dressed as cats!). Pat, Gracie, Brown, Rachel, Me, Karen (who’s taking over as Secretary from me).

What else….. well, I went to see Mamma Mia again on Monday and, yet again, laughed until tears were streaming down my face on several occasions. Cried at the sad bit too. Can’t wait to go again (and again, and again, and again…).

Two weeks on Monday we’re going away for a week to the Sunshine Coast in Australia…. can’t wait…. I have a pile of books this high to take with me… both YA and adult. My fingers are itching to start some of them now but I’m forcing myself to hold off. Actually, as I’m reading the latest Allison Brennan it’s ok. She is the most amazing writer ever. I don’t read romantic suspense apart from her….. her storytelling ability….. I’m in total awe!

Finally, hop over to Melissa Walker’s blog…. she’s doing my cover story for The Second Virginity of Suzy Green

August 19, 2008 • Comments

I’m thrilled to be touring I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert.

Sid Vicious isn’t exactly a role model in the wholesome, small town Midwest. Neither is Louisa Carson-Black, who has earned the position of the proverbial black sheep of Carlisle, Wisconsin by hightailing it out of town to pursue the punk rock scene. After all, what go better together than the restlessness of youth and punk rock? The only problem is that in her exodus, Louisa leaves behind her four-month-year-old daughter Emily…

As Emily is raised by her father, the only way she gets to know Louisa is through her abandoned records. It’s no CBGB’s, but Emily witnesses the evolution of punk in an old warehouse called River’s Edge, and she even develops some fist-pumping, anarchist mannerisms of her own. Although Emily would like to pretend that it is, her life is certainly no carefree “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Deep down inside, she has a burning need to find her mother. Emily sets out to follow the musical trail that Louisa leaves behind, which ends up leading her to fame and glory that she never imagined!

If Louisa wants to live on the cutting edge of punk rock, then what better way to attract her than to be the next best thing in punk? Emily realizes that she has to become Sleater-Kinney’s “queen of rock and roll” to bring her mother back to her. Emily transforms into punk royalty as she starts up her own widely acclaimed band She Laughs. The last thing that she wants is be taken for granted by her mother, but when the music does eventually guide Louisa to Emily, Emily discovers that there is whole lot more to Louisa’s flight than just youthful impulsivity!

What inspired the plot for your book?

My love for punk rock and female musicians in particular. I created the character of Emily Black to pay tribute to all the women in music who got me through my teen years. Her mother, Louisa, was from a separate short story, but I soon realized that having a complicated mother like her would give Emily more depth as a character and real motivation, so I combined the two.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?

The genre chose me, really. My agent shopped my book as an adult book for a year and then decided to try selling it as a YA. It sold to MTV Books, which really has a lot of books that are on that cusp between YA and adult, which I guess is the audience for my book, late teens, twenties and thirty-somethings. I just set out to write the kind of book I’d been seeking since I was a teenager. It’s exciting that today’s teens and adults are still interested in that kind of book.

What is your writing process like?

It’s probably a little different than most. I went to Columbia College Chicago for my BA and MFA in Creative Writing and there they have a certain method of teaching writing called the Story Workshop Method where you play word games, see images of the words and then start to see the place where your story takes place. You go to the moment that is taking your attention and then write. To this day I still do these activities with my writing group once a week. I find it really helps me get started on my story. So I do that for awhile to get a sense of the overall story. Then I start to put the pieces together. I usually don’t outline a story until I’m halfway through writing it and know my characters well enough to know where they are going to go. I mean, I thought Emily was going to go to college at some point in I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE. That is so totally not her and I had to get to know her well enough to figure that out. So I suppose I plunge, then plot. Also I’m a binge writer. I do my best work when I have a full day to write.

What are you working on now?

Right now I am waiting for my revision notes for BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, which will be out in Summer 2009 from MTV Books. That one is about a teenage girl who finally finds her place among a bunch of misfit kids who hang out at a suburban park, but as they all grapple with their various problems, life spiral out of control.

While I’m waiting, I’m working on a couple other book ideas. The main one right now is about a girl who runs away with a friend of hers who unbeknownst to her at first has schizophrenia. And since I like to shift POVs, it also focuses on their mothers, who are dealing with this in different ways.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Right now I work my day job and I sleep. Occasionally my boyfriend and I veg out to TV together (Rock of Love and Degrassi marathons being our favorite). But soon I’m quitting the day job, so I hope to read more books and see my friends more often! Oh and of course I am always listening to music.

Who do you like to read?

A wide variety. I like the classics like John Steinbeck, I like edgier, modern literature like Irvine Welsh, I like stuff with fantastical elements like Francesca Lia Block and Melissa Marr. And I like gritty, real, honest stories like Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess and Almost Home by Jessica Blank. I read a lot of YA because I feel it is some of the most honest stuff out there right now.

Stephanie Kuehnert works at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing, but is a writer through and through. She has published short stories, interviews, and essays in Hair Trigger and No Touching magazines, as well as for websites such as inkstains.org, freshyarn.com, and Virginia Quarterly Review. She was recently named to the Lit 50, the list of Chicago’s hottest writers by NewCity, the renowned list also includes Studs Terkel, Elizabeth Berg, Scott Turrow, Aleksandar Hemon, and Audrey Niffenegger. Stephanie received her Bachelor’s in Fiction Writing at Columbia College in Chicago, and went on to earn her master’s degree there in 2006. She was awarded Third Place in Traditional Fiction by the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association for “Fairytale”, an excerpt from her novel I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. Stephanie currently lives in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, with her boyfriend and three cats. Stephanie’s heart and soul will always reside in Chicago, and her up-and-coming work Ballads of Suburbia has been divinely inspired by the Windy City.

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
by Stephanie Kuehnert

Publisher: MTV/Pocket Books
Publication Date: July 2008
Price: $13.00
ISBN: 1416562699

Website: www.stephaniekuehnert.com
Blog: http://stephaniekuehnert.blogspot.com and http://writerstephanie.livejournal.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/theblacknotebooks

August 12, 2008 • 1 Comment

I’m thrilled to be touring Megan Kelly Hall. Her debut books sounds awesome.

Megan Kelley Hall’s debut novel, SISTERS OF MISERY is a modern-day gothic novel complete with witchcraft and runic mythology. It tells the story of Maddie Crane and her quest to unravel the mystery surrounding her cousin Cordelia’s disappearance.

Hawthorne, Massachusetts, a seaside town borne in the shadow of the witchcraft trials, has not changed much throughout the years, and persecution and ostracism are still an active way of life within this cloistered community. So, when Cordelia LeClaire and her quirky, free-spirited mother, Rebecca arrive, the community’s brief curiosity over the newcomers, quickly turns to disdain and jealously.

It is no surprise that The Sisters of Misery—a secret clique of the most popular, powerful girls in school, with the vindictive Kate Endicott at its helm —trick Maddie and her cousin into spending Halloween night on Misery Island. But when Cordelia disappears, questions arise as to what happened. The town would like to believe that Cordelia, always impulsive, simply ran away. But Maddie knows that more is at stake and others have something to hide. Now Maddie must choose between the allure and power of the Sisters of Misery and her loyalty to her beloved cousin.

1. What inspired the plot for your book?

Modern day version of the Salem Witch Trials. It’s set in a fictional town next to Salem, MA.

2. Why did you decide to write in this genre?

I’ve always loved suspense novels, especially as a teen. So many YA suspense novelists like Lois Duncan, Christopher Pike and Stephen King inspired my writing. In college, I devoured any short stories with a gothic element. Stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, William Faulkner.

3. What is your writing process like?

I’m a terrible procrastinator. I need to let things percolate in my mind for days, even weeks, and then, like a pressure cooker, it all comes pouring out of me. My writing habits are the same as my college days and usually include a lot of all-nighters. Unfortunately, with a five-year-old, a writing career and a literary publicity company (Kelley & Hall Book Publicity), I can’t recover by sleeping the whole next day.

4. What are you working on now?

I’m working on the second book in the SISTERS OF MISERY series. It’s called THE LOST SISTER and will come out in August 2009. I’m also playing around with a nonfiction memoir describing how I overcame major health setbacks (open heart surgery two years ago) to fulfill my dream of being a published author.

5. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Read as much as I can. “Do computer” as my daughter calls it, which involves staying on top of trends and new stories for my clients through Kelley & Hall. My online research also helps me with pitching articles that I write for national magazines and publications. Most importantly, I play with my daughter, Piper. Of course, she’ll say that I don’t do that as much as I should. There never seem to be enough hours in the day…

6. Who do you like to read?

I’m a huge fan of literary suspense novels. I also love books with a supernatural or magic realism bent. Alice Hoffman and Jodi Picoult are favorites. I also love reading dark YA fiction. And, of course, all the books from the members of the Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit!

SISTERS OF MISERY by Megan Kelley Hall
Trade Paperback: 308 pages
Publisher: Kensington (July 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758226799
ISBN-13: 978-0758226792

Praise for SISTERS OF MISERY

“Megan Kelley Hall hits one over the fence with her debut novel — a true Gothic that skillfully combines the dangerous mischief of a modern clique with the bad girls whose prank-gone-mad ignited the Salem witch trials. The shivery story of Maddie and her mysterious, doomed cousin, Cordelia — both prey to the angel-faced vixens who party on the aptly named Misery Island — shows boldly that ancient and modern peer pressure are the same demon in new clothes. That demon wants Cordelia, and only Maddie can save her…unless evil catches her first.”
–Jacquelyn Mitchard, Oprah Book Club and New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and The Midnight Twins

“Original, insightful, and scary. Megan Kelley Hall writes with an intense, frightening grace that will have you turning pages long into the night. She has immediately established herself as a first novelist to be reckoned with in the future.”
–Michael Palmer, New York Times bestselling author of The First Patient and Extreme Measures

“An exciting, dangerous, and mysterious world! Megan Kelley Hall has crafted a story that’ll keep you guessing until the last page.”
–Richelle Mead, author, Vampire Academy series

“A dazzling and dishy portrait of magic, mystery, and coming of age. Readers will eat this up and come begging for more.”
–Laurie Stolarz, author of the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series

“One of the very best things in life is discovering an author you want to read more of. Sisters of Misery makes me want to read a whole lot more of Megan Kelley Hall.”
–Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank and Impulse

Megan Kelley Hall, who lives north of Boston with her husband, Edward, and five-year-old daughter Piper, started a literary publicity company, Kelley and Hall, in 2005 with her sister, Jocelyn Kelley, and mother, Gloria Kelley. Her freelance magazine work has been published in Glamour, Elle, American Baby, Working Mother, New England Bride, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald MetroSports, Parents and Kids, and many other magazines. She studied creative writing at Skidmore College under the Pulitzer-Prize winning author Steven Millhauser. Her work can also be seen in the former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan’s anthology entitled, What’s Possible! (Meredith Books, May 2008.) The second in the series, THE LOST SISTER, will be published by Kensington in August 2009.

August 6, 2008 • 18 Comments

I’m back……. I’m totally shattered…….. and I’m definitely going again!!!!

RWA was the most (cue American accent) awesome experience ever. It was so funny because while everyone was asking me to speak (they love the UK accent) all I wanted to do was listen to the American accent (it’s sooo cool).

Anyway…. highlights….. omg there were so many. So I think I’ll do it in pictures.

We got to hang out with some really cool authors:

Kelly Parra, Bethany Griffin, Ally Carter and Teri Brown

And some more:

(top) Marley Gibson, Me, Wendy Tolliver

(bottom) Simone Elkeles, Heather Davis, Dona Sarkar-Mishra, Tera Lynn Childs

More:

Amanda Ashby, Michelle Rowen, Megan Crane

Kiwi girls…. Petre, Giovanna, Nalini (Singh), Ellie, Zana, Iona, Amanda (front)

Me, Amanda and Laura (the best stalker in the world!!)

Me, Wendy Tolliver, Kay Cassidy (who won the Golden Heart…. very exciting)

Me at the Literacy signing

My good friends: Theresa Stevens (editor), Alexis Fleming (author), Me, Bobbie Cole (author).

Kiwi girls: Zana, Emily (Gee) double Rita finalist, Amanda, Iona

Amanda, Sarah (Golden Heart finalist), Tera Lynn Childs

So…………….. some of my photos…………………. and I must mention the ones who got away… for some reason I don’t have any photos of Alyson Noel (who is seriously a fabulous person), Maureen McGowan (another totally cool person), Cindy Procter-King (who I adored, fabulous sense of humour), Vanessa Barneveld (great girl… and tres chic), and Kristin Nelson (who’s great fun).

I’m already saving up for my next RWA conference. The workshops were amazing… especially the one by creativity coach Eric Maisel (I am sooo motivated now) and Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat (he’s an awesome presenter).

Another of the highlights was the literacy signing…. and I didn’t even need to bribe my friends to come and buy my book…..

I can’t recommend RWA enough, it was seriously the best conference ever!!