Archive for April, 2010

April 27, 2010 • 2 Comments

I’m thrilled to be touring Jessica Brody and her book The Karma Club which releases on April 27 from Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers. I can’t wait to read it.

So, what’s it about:

When you mess with Karma, Karma messes back…

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you’ll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve. But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind and get back at the people who have wronged them. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.

Check this out:

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?

This was definitely one of those ideas that just “came” to me. A friend of mine had told me some horrendous story about how a boy dumped her (I don’t even remember the story, I just remember it was infuriating!) and the entire time she was talking, I kept thinking, “Someone needs to do that right back to him. He can’t just get away with that. He needs a taste of Karma!” And then boom, the idea came to me. A secret society of girls who help each other out, dosing out Karma to those who deserve it when the universe is slow to do it on its own. And thus THE KARMA CLUB was born. Of course, as soon as the idea came to me, I also knew that my characters would never be able to get away with it. Karma is a tricky thing. And you definitely don’t want to meddle with the universe!

Why did you decide to write in this genre?

It was a total fluke, actually. When I first came up with the idea, I thought about it as an adult novel. I had already written two other adult novels so it was the only thing I knew. But as I started fleshing out the story, I realized it didn’t fit at all in an adult world. It was much more of a teenage story. So I wrote out 50 sample pages, sent it to my agent and said, “Does this have any chance of becoming a YA novel?” She wrote loved it and told me I had a very natural voice for young adult. As it turned out, I loved writing it so much that I’ve since sold two more YA novels. I adore this genre. It just feels like a good fit with my writing and storytelling style. Maybe that’s because I’m still a teenager at heart. 

What is your writing process like?

Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. LOL. The writing process is actually very random for me. It all depends on the day. Because I tend to be equally right and left brained, sometimes I feel as though the writing process is just a constant struggle (or sometimes clash) between the two sides of my brain to come up with a consistent way to write a novel. I write outlines, because my analytical side tells me it’s the right thing to do, but then halfway through the story, I come to the conclusion that I only write outlines so that I’ll have something to deviate from. And yet, despite this seemingly random chaos, it all feels perfectly natural to me. As if it was designed specifically for a purpose. So I suppose, my lack of a defined process is a process in itself!

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a new YA book that will be out in 2012 called 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER about a teen heiress who is forced by her ever-absent mogul father to take on a different low-wage job every week for a year if she wants any hope of getting her trust fund. I’m SO excited about it! Plus, I just finished the copyedits on another book that will be out in 2011 called MY LIFE UNDECIDED. And I’m also working on a new YA series that I can’t quite talk about yet. But it’s gonna be SOOOO cool! What do you do when you’re not writing? Think about writing. LOL! Seriously though, when I’m in the middle of a book, it completely consumes me. I live that book. I inhabit that world. I react to things as my character would. It’s actually a really cool process and I love it.

Who do you like to read?

Anything and everything! But I tend to only read fiction. I’m not much of a non-fiction fan, unless it’s research for a book. I love stories. And voices. And fictional worlds. I love to read within my genre. My latest obsession: The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. OMG…best books ever!

Bio:

Jessica Brody is the author of two books for adults. The Karma Club is her first book for teens. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California where she is working on her next novel. Despite what some people from her high school might claim, she has never sought revenge on an ex-boyfriend. Visit her online at: http://www.jessicabrody.com

Free Flip Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of The Karma Club on April 27, Jessica is giving away FOUR Flip Video Cameras (as well as TONS of other cool prizes!) on her site. Visit her website, http://www.jessicabrody.com for all the details and to enter to win!

April 19, 2010 • 4 Comments

I’m very excited to be touring fellow TFCer, the fabulous Kay Cassidy and her debut THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, which I’m seriously hanging out to read:

What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen year old Jess Parker has always been an outsider. So when she receives an invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret society of the most popular girls in school, it’s like something out of a fairy tale. Swept up by the Cindys’ magical world of makeovers, and catching the eye of her Prince Charming, Jess feels like she’s finally found her chance to fit in.

Then the Wickeds–led by Jess’s arch-enemy–begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself on the outside. She has unknowingly become part of a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and now the Cindys in charge need Jess for a mission that could change everything.

Overwhelmed, Jess wonders if The Cinderella Society made a mistake in choosing her. Is it a coincidence her new boyfriend doesn’t want to be seen with her in public? And is this glamorous, secret life even what she wants, or will she risk her own happy ending to live up to the expectations of her new sisters?

And now for the usual questions…..

What inspired the plot for your book?
The Cinderella Society actually came from a magazine article about high school sororities. I’d never heard of that before and, once I started thinking about the kind of society I would create if I could, I realized I would’ve wanted it to be an organization devoted to fighting the everyday battle of good vs. evil. It all snowballed from there and The Cinderella Society was born.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I’d been writing adult fiction for several years but never seemed to find my fit there. A friend suggested that my voice would be a great match for YA, but I hadn’t read YA since I was a teen! So I headed on down to my local library. The teen librarian suggested three books: The Princess Diaries, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and How My Private, Personal Journal Become a Bestseller. I took them home, devoured them, and knew that this was what I wanted to write. The rest is history!

What is your writing process like?
I’m a big planner in general, so I naturally fall on the plotting end of the plotting/pantsing spectrum. I plot every scene in advance. Not in great detail, just a paragraph or so laying out what the purpose of the scene is. It helps me make sure the story hangs together and makes writing the first draft a ton easier for me because I never have to worry about the What comes next? issue. And I tend to write myself into fewer corners that way. That’s a pet peeve of mine that makes me crazy, so avoiding it is a definite plus of my process.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the sequel to The Cinderella Society, titled Cindy on a Mission. It follows the further adventures of Jess and the Sisters as the Wickeds launch an offensive that threatens everything the Cindys hold dear. Cindy on a Mission will be on shelves in Spring 2011.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Mostly try to catch up with life. What I enjoy doing in my free time is reading and watching Glee and FlashForward (both of which I absolutely adore).

Who do you like to read?
I’ve branched out a lot in my reading in the last year. I’ve been reading dystopians, fantasies and chick lit (the YA versions). I’ve also been reading some mysteries, some Dan Brown, and some women’s fiction when I want to escape into the adult world for a peek into someone else’s life. My favorite series/related books right now are by Ally Carter, Suzanne Collins and Kristin Cashore.

Bio:
Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. She is the founder of the national Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM reading program for kids and teens and the host of the inspirational Living Your FiveTM web project. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, movies, music, and reading. Lots and lots of reading. She hopes her debut YA novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY (April 13, 2010 – Egmont), will help girls embrace their inner Cindy.

April 17, 2010 • Comments

So, at the moment I’m writing something very different for me. It’s still a young adult book but it’s one from a boy’s perspective. Now that in itself isn’t a problem, I have three brothers and one son (with lots of friends) so I’m happy enough in a boys psyche.

Also, the book is edgy. As in when I first told one of my CPs about it she had a huge ewwwww moment…. but thankfully she’s over it now! This too isn’t a problem, because even though I can’t watch anything with blood in it (this doesn’t have any) I love all things Criminal Minds-like and read books written by Allison Brennan and Brenda Novak which definitely have some ewwww factor.

No, the problem for me is the way I’m writing this book…. it’s seriously scary…..     I DON’T HAVE A SCENE SPREADSHEET.

I have a fairly detailed outline….. phew…. but nothing else. I’m just wondering if this signifies I’m moving over to the ‘fumbling in the dark’ other world, of which my two CPs are a part!!!!!

I’ll report further if anything else starts to happen to me, although one of my CPS says it already has as when I was on holiday I actually did some writing….. quite a lot…. at expense of my reading. I usually read a book a day when on holiday and over the whole two weeks I only read about 6 books…..

OMG…. what’s next….

April 10, 2010 • Comments

But don’t expect a long post because it’s so crazy busy here at the moment I don’t know my ass from my elbow!!!

Anyway, just thought I’d post this photo of me on holiday because it cracked me up so much…. to set the scene, I’m on the deck overlooking the ocean in our spa pool……  captions welcome!!

And now for something a little more cultural… look carefully because it’s not what it seems….. it’s actually a reflection from when we went on a cruise down the Everglades where the water is just like a mirror: