Archive for the 'Interviews' Category

June 16, 2010 • 3 Comments

This is the tour I’ve been hanging out for, my very good friend, the hugely talented, fabulous Wendy Toliver. I was lucky enough to read Lifted before it was published and I know you’re all going to love it. And the cover is amazing, I have serious cover envy!!

So………

Being Bad Never Felt So Good.

Poppy Browne had never stolen anything in her life before moving to Pleasant Acres, Texas and meeting Mary Jane and Whitney. But when Poppy walks out of the mall with her two new friends and her first pair of stolen jeans, she’s hooked.

Before long, Poppy is lifting whenever she gets the urge—it’s never about the merchandise, it’s always about the thrill. But when her secret gets out, the girls in Poppy’s clique turn on one another. As she watches her life collapse around her, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie … and how far she’ll go to protect herself.

Check out the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX6goy2sAwc

And now for my usual questions:
What inspired the plot for your book?
I was watching a show on TV about how shoplifting is a huge problem, especially with teens, and thought it would make an interesting topic for a book. Most people have either shoplifted themselves, have been tempted to try it, or know someone who has, so I think it’s something we can all relate to.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
My first attempt at writing a book was in the chick lit genre. That manuscript never sold but it did get me some valuable feedback from editors. More than one mentioned that my voice is “young and fun” and that I might be suited to write YA. Sure enough, my first attempt at writing for teens (The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren) was successful and I was hooked!

What is your writing process like?
Since I have three little boys who are always getting into things I have to write whenever I can squeeze out the time. I write on a laptop most of the time (though I sometimes do jot things down on napkins or scraps of paper). I self-edit along the way, which sometimes bogs me down but I can’t seem to go on if something isn’t quite right. I tend to walk around in a daze, thinking about my stories so that when I do get a minute to sit down, I can type it out and make the most of the time.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a paranormal YA at the moment, with a few other projects on the sidelines.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I try to catch up on housework, play, and sleep. For fun, I like to wakeboard in the summer and snowboard in the winter, and I’m always up for a hike or long walk.

Who do you like to read?
I read a variety of authors. Right now, I’m reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and enjoying it.

What People Are Saying About Lifted
“Smart, deftly written, and extremely well-observed, Wendy Toliver’s Lifted is so realistic and moving I felt like I was transported right inside Poppy’s world, watching as she struggled to navigate her way through a school where appearances are deceiving and no one is quite what they seem. A hard to put down, compelling read!”
Alyson Noël, #1 New York Times Best Selling author of The Immortals series

“Lifted is the story of an imperfect heroine seeking her place not only in school, but in life. Its exploration of the amount of truth behind social and religious stereotypes escalates into a double-dog dare to believe them. A haunting morality tale that will leave you questioning just what it means to be “good.”
Aprilynne Pike, author of the #1 New York Times Best-Selling novel Wings

“Lifted by Wendy Toliver is an amazing, compelling read, filled with all the realness of being in high school, from humor to love to angst. I haven’t met a character so well developed as Poppy since reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. At times heartbreaking, at others uplifting, Lifted is a book that I absolutely loved.”
James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner and the13th Reality series

VOYA
Poor Poppy Browne! Her mother, an attractive but uptight college professor, has moved her from hip Colorado to bucolic Pleasant Acres, Texas, saying that she is doing it for Poppy’s benefit. Even worse, she has to make a go of it in a conservative Baptist school. Calvary High, though, proves to be a much more interesting place than Poppy had imagined. Initially, it is all a bit straight-laced and humdrum, but when she makes friends with popular Mary Jane and Whitney, her life becomes more intriguing. The two girls, top students and role models, prove to be accomplished shoplifters. When they introduce Poppy to their pastime, she is instantly hooked—and it is not the merchandise—it is the thrill of the chase, the charge of getting away with something. Then, one of her friends informs on her, and as her world comes crashing down, Poppy has to figure out what her values really are. The writing and characterization are both decent, with enough contemporary slang and topical references for teens to relate. Plot driven, yes, indeed; but in the category of light read, this rates well on the girl interest scale. A strictly additional purchase, this is excellent beach reading for those seeking mean girl-fare with a soupcon of romance. Reviewer: Ann Welton

Booklist
Especially well drawn is Poppy’s crush, a quirky, sincere minister’s son, who—as Poppy’s world spins out of control—comforts her with unconditional support: “We all make mistakes. It says so in the Bible, so it’s gotta be true.” Will appeal to all teens interested in wayward behavior. Reviewer: Karen Cruze

Contest
Wendy is running a contest on her website, www.wendytoliver.com, the entire month of June. Simply click on the “contact” button and send her a message including the word “contest,” your name, and your U.S. mailing address. (If you’re under the age of 14, please get permission from your parents/guardians first.) She will be giving away gift cards to Border’s, signed copies of Lifted, as well as other fun prizes. One entry per person, please.

Bio
Born in Texas, raised in Colorado, and now living in Utah, Wendy Toliver has successfully eliminated “y’all” from her vocabulary. However, she still managed to marry a pickup man. They have three young sons and an assortment of furry, scaly, and slimy pets. She is the author of three novels for teens: The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, Miss Match, and Lifted.

Online
Web-site: www.wendytoliver.com
Blogs: www.teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com, www.booksboysbuzz.com, www.pulserocom.com
Other: www.facebook.com/wendy.toliver, www.twitter.com/wendytoliver, www.myspace.com/roxytoliver, http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Wendy-Toliver/44777487

May 25, 2010 • 5 Comments

I’m very excited to touring ENDLESS SUMMER by Jennifer Echols.

Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can’t wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends–including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she’s always been just one of the guys. Now that she’s turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that’s not going to happen–not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori’s romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
I grew up on a beautiful lake in Alabama, and I invented a romantic plot that should have happened to me when I lived there. I’m a sucker for books about love triangles, the boy next door, and finally getting together with the crush you pined after forever—so I threw every bit of that into the pot and made it into the book I wanted to read.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I love the romantic comedy genre above anything else.

What is your writing process like?
It’s a total mess. It takes me forever to figure out what I’m writing about next, and then I start the book…on page 150! I don’t write in order. I have tried to streamline my process, but I’ve found that I need the chaos. It drives me crazy but it seems to work for me, and I do produce a book I love in the end.

What are you working on now?
My next romantic drama, Forget You, is coming out on July 20. Right now I’m writing still another romantic drama that will be published in July 2011.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I work as a copyeditor. In my free time I hang out with my son, run about four miles a day, and read!

Who do you like to read?
I like to sample one book by everybody just so I’ll know what’s going on—but my all-time favorite writers are Jane Austen, adult romantic comedy writer Jennifer Crusie, and my fabulous critique partner, Victoria Dahl.

Bio:

Jennifer Echols grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama–a setting that has inspired many of her books. Always interested in creative writing, she finished her first (and still unpublished) novel soon after graduating with a degree in English from Auburn University at age 20. She worked as an editor for newspapers, a writer for business publications, and a writing instructor for three major universities, completed a master’s degree in English, and finished the coursework for a PhD in genre studies before selling a book. Since then, she has written many young adult novels for Simon & Schuster, including Major Crush, which won the National Reader’s Choice Award, and Going Too Far, which is a finalist in the 2010 RITA, the National Reader’s Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best. Her next novel, Forget You, will be released on July 20. Currently she works as a copyeditor and lives in Birmingham with her husband and son. Please visit her online at www.jennifer-echols.com.

Endless Summer is Published by Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster. ISBN-10: 1442406593; ISBN-13: 978-1442406599.

May 19, 2010 • Comments

Today I’m doing a blog tour with a difference. The fabulous Lauren Baratz-Logsted, fellow TFCer and awesome writer is doing THE ONE-QUESTION INTERVIEW BLOG TOUR which involves touring from blog to blog answering one question on each. So, I came up with a two in one question for Lauren….. and we really got value for money.

But first the books Lauren’s touring:

THE EDUCATION OF BET published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and coming out in July, is about a 16-year-old girl in Victorian England who impersonates a boy in order to get a proper education.

Volume 5 of the Sisters 8, co-written with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted, also published by Houghton Mifflin, MARCIA’S MADNESS which came out on May 3rd and is about Marcia – the fifth-born sister, Marcia, the sensible one; Marcia, the reasonable one; Marcia, the one who would never do anything crazy, begins to act in a most unusual way.

And now for the question:

What I find incredible is the way you move, seemingly effortlessly, from one genre to another. How do you manage to do this and what tips would you give anyone wanting to do the same?

I’m glad it looks effortless, but it isn’t always! Basically what it boils down to is that like a lot of people, I’m an eclectic reader. There are books I love in nearly every area of literature. I’m the same in terns of writing. I can no more see myself sticking to writing in one area than I can picture myself saying I’ll only read adult comedies for the rest of my life or only YA vampire novels. Obviously if I have a multibook contract with a publisher, I have to write the type of book they hired me to write in terms of what I deliver to them, but for things not under contract, I simply move where the whim takes me. In fact, that’s how I wrote my first YA novel, Angel’s Choice. I’d started it thinking I was writing yet another novel for the adult market but somewhere in the process realized that the voice of the narrator was authentically a teen and that I’d stumbled into writing YA.

I’ve loved writing YA ever since. One of the fabulous things about it is that a writer is less likely to get pigeonholed by YA readers. When you write for the adult market, people try very hard to keep you in the box you first were published in. If you start out in light comedy, they get perplexed if you published a book classified as literary Victorian suspense – ahem. Not so with YA. Perhaps that’s because readers of YA are as eclectic as I am: as likely to read a contemporary problem novel, a seriocomic sort-of mystery, a fairy tale re-visioning, or a novel set in the Victorian era about a girl impersonating a boy in order to get a proper education.

As for tips for people who want to do what I do – well, hopefully they’ll do it better! – I would say simply to begin thinking as early as possible about what would make you happiest in terms of a writing career and also examine why you write in the first place: Do you do it primarily because you love to write, or because you want to be published? You can have both goals simultaneously but they are separate things. If you’re more security-oriented, you may want to stick to one area so you have a better chance of branding yourself as the marketing gurus like to call it these days. But if you’re more task-oriented, like me, you might want to try writing what you love, whatever that might be on any given project, and hoping the money will follow. If, like me, you’re not a branded author, the money will not follow all that heavily, but it may just be enough. And in my case, writing as I do means I’m never bored as a writer, which is important to me since life is short. I hope my readers are never bored either.

And now this is, officially, the longest answer I have given on The One-Question Interview Blog Tour!

Bio:
Before becoming a published author, Lauren was an independent bookseller, a Publishers Weekly reviewer, a freelance editor, a sort-of librarian and a window washer. You can read more about her life and work at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com.

January 5, 2010 • 2 Comments

I’m really excited for my first tour of 2010 to be Eileen Cook’s GETTING REVENGE ON LAUREN WOOD. I can’t wait to read it, Eileen’s such a funny writer.

About the Book:

Popularity is the best revenge.
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls–and now, at the start of her senior year, she’s the cheerleading captain, the quarterback’s girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she’s ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she’s moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn’t dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that’s ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

And now for my usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
The book was inspired in part by rereading The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s such a great revenge tale with secret identities, romance and betrayal between best friends. It made me think how things would play out if the story were to take place in a high school. Right then I was off and running with a story.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I love writing for teens! Everything matters so much more at that age that it allows books and characters to have a great intensity. I tend to use humor in my books because I don’t seem capable of writing without it.

What is your writing process like?
There’s a process? Dang, I should get one of those. I don’t have a set routine or system to my writing. I still work part time at my day job and my life seems to teeter towards chaos at times so a set schedule doesn’t work well for me. I do try and write a bit every day so that I can keep the story moving forward and tell myself not to get too bogged down if something is wrong, I can always fix it once I have something on the page.

What are you working on now?
I have two projects on the go. I am doing a middle grade series about a girl who comes from a long line of fairy godmothers. All she wants is to be normal, but that is harder for her than you might imagine. I’ve also just started a YA about a girl caught in a prank gone wrong and her ability to deal with the fall out.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Reading! I’m a book junkie. I love to snuggle up on the sofa with my dogs and lose myself in a good book. I also love watching movies and knitting.

Who do you like to read?
I read EVERYTHING. I love mysteries, and non-fiction, funny books, serious books, books with dogs, scary books, romance – you name it and I bet I have it on my shelf.

About the Eileen:

Eileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. When she was unable to find any job postings for world famous author, she went to Michigan State University and became a counselor so she could at least afford her book buying habit. But real people have real problems, so she returned to writing because she liked having the ability to control the ending. Which is much harder with humans.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

www.eileencook.com

Praise for Eileen’s Writing:
“Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” –Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and Airhead
“Not since Judy Blume’s Margaret introduced herself to God has there been such a funny, genuine, conflicted, wanna-be-sorta-good-maybe-later girl as Emma. Cook’s tone as she takes on the big ones—life, love, faith, and friendship—is pitch perfect.”–Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Midnight Twins and The Deep End of the Ocean
“Smart and fun and full of heart.” –Sarah Mlynowski, author of Bras & Broomsticks and How to Be Bad

August 6, 2009 • 5 Comments

I’m very excited to be touring the awesome Stephanie Kuehnert (one of my fellow TFCers) and her latest book Ballads of Suburbia which I can’t wait to read.

In high school, Kara McNaughton helped maintain the “Stories of Suburbia” notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over, as well as personal vignettes written by her friends,which Kara dubbed “ballads”. Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara likes best.

-more-

Not the clichéd ones but the truly genuine, gut-wrenching songs that convey love, loss and an individual’s story. Those “stories of Suburbia” were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year of high school.

Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends’ “ballads” interspersed throughout. Among them are her best friend Stacey, who dates guy after guy trying to find the one who will take care of her the way her parents never did; Cass, who copes with her mother’s mental illness and her older brother’s abandonment by doing copious amounts of acid; Adrian the creator of the “Stories of Suburbia”, who has “Thrown Away” tattooed on his forearms to express how he feels about his
adoptive parents and his birth parents; Christian, who seems like the nice guy type that Kara belongs with, but has a violent streak; Kara’s little brother Liam, who idolized Johnny Cash as a preschooler and has idolized Kara all his life though she lets him down again and again; and Maya, an eccentric but beautiful redhead who refuses to talk about her mother’s suicide.

Then of course, there’s Kara. She begins high school as a loner, who copes with her lack of friends and her rapidly unraveling home life by going to concerts with Liam, smoking the occasional joint, and cutting herself when things get really bad. She’s reluctant at first when she tags along with Maya to Scoville Park, where the “misfit” kids hang out, but she really wants “a life.” The summer after junior year that life nearly ends with a heroin overdose, the event that triggers Kara’s exit from Oak Park.

All the things that happen in between make up the ballads of suburbia.

And now for my usual set of questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
I have a list of early inspirations of the book and its characters that I will share:
-Chicagoland, particularly the little corner of it I am so familiar with being the near western suburbs
-The epic fall and rise out of the ashes that makes you a person (Mythology)
-Suburbia (the place and the 80s movie)
-Punk Rock
-Family (the one you are born into and the one you chose, which often mirrors the problems of the original family but also fills the void)
-”Fitting in”/Jenga/house of cards

The main characters and the influences for them are:
Adrian is imagery of the worn cuff of your jeans slowly being worn away as you walk without you even knowing it.
Maya is scarlet lipstick stains on a cigarette butt.
Liam sang Johnny Cash as a little kid not the Beatles like everyone else.
Kara is the bastard child of a PJ Harvey song and a Mark Lanegan song.

Some of that may seem rather vague and I came up with that list when I was in first draft phase which is why I thought it would be particularly fun to share. But ultimately, the plot was inspired by my own experience in suburbia. It’s not autobiographical by any means, but I saw that a lot of things were not as happy and safe as they seemed and wanted to bring that out into the light.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I write the kinds of books I wanted to read as a teenager. As a teen, I read adult books, so I didn’t necessarily set out to write YA. I wanted to write books that both teens and adults would love and honestly as an adult, the genre I love most right now is YA! It’s the most honest and real and interesting. I’m glad to be a part of it!

What is your writing process like?
Well, it really depends on the book. Each times I start a new project I learn to write over again. For the most part though, I start with an idea and I toy with it forever. Then I finally start to write in fits and spurts. Then I binge. I go away for a week and just write like 10, 12 hour days. Then the first draft is finished and that is the part I hate most, the first draft. Revising is the fun part. Perfecting, shaping.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the fits and spurts phase. I have a few different ideas I’m toying with, but right this very second I’m toying with a book about a girl who has been moved around by her mother her whole life, so she goes on this road trip to find her “real home”. She’s on the road with a boy who is like a brother to her who is dealing with bipolar disorder and off his meds. But um, I could end up putting out a very different book next. Who knows really!

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love to listen to music and go to concerts. I also love to read and just veg out in front of the TV with my fiancé.

Who do you like to read?
A wide variety of authors from the classics like John Steinbeck to gritty
contemporary adult like Irvine Welsh, to Urban Fantasy like Jeri Smith-Ready and
then mostly YA, in which my favorites are Melissa Marr, Francesca Lia Block, Cecil Castellucci, Laura Wiess…. Oh I could go on…

Here’s what people are saying about BALLADS OF SUBURBIA:

“….an intensely real and painfully honest novel of high-school anxiety.” and “….Kuehnert nails the raw vulnerability of teendom and delivers a hard-hitting and mesmerizing read.” – Booklist

“Like an American Beauty for the teen set.” – NewCity

“With her first two novels, Kuehnert has created vivid pictures of teenage lives that lie in that borderland that abuts adulthood. It is a fertile, confusing and intense place, and Kuehnert never holds back. But like a good ballad, she keeps the stories taut and precise, with a touch of heart thrown in for good measure.” – Chicago Sun-Times

“This book is powerful. It’s been haunting me for days. Yes, haunting me.” – The Story Siren, 5 star review, Recipient of the Luminous Pearl Award

“BALLADS OF SUBURBIA is a remarkable achievement that hits you right where it counts (your heart) and lingers where it matters (the brain). I’m truly looking forward to seeing what Stephanie Kuehnert will do next.” – Steph Su Reads, 5 out of 5 rating

“This novel was addicting. It was harsh, raw, cruel, sad, and painful, but the scariest of all is that this is real. In one powerful novel, whole worlds are exposed. I recommend this novel to anyone ready to see the truth.” – Reading Is Bliss

“All that really needs to be said about Ballads of Suburbia is that it’s spectacular, and that I can’t recommend it enough.” – Frenetic Reader

Bio:
Stephanie Kuehnert got her start writing bad poetry about unrequited love and razor blades in eighth grade. In high school, she discovered punk rock and produced several D.I.Y. feminist ‘zines. She received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and lives in Forest Park, Illinois. Her first novel, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, was released by MTV Books in July of 2008. BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, also published by MTV Books, is her latest release.

Website: www.stephaniekuehnert.com
Blog: stephaniekuehnert.blogspot.com A cyber launch party for Ballads of Suburbia is running there through August 14 with lots of guest bloggers and daily prizes!

Link to Epilogue (ie the very first chapter of the book) on Stephanie’s site: http://www.stephaniekuehnert.com/ballads/index.html#chap1

July 12, 2009 • Comments

I’m really excited to be touring ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH by Greg Logsted. It’s my kind of book and I can’t wait to read it.

Thirteen-year-old Cody Saron has been home schooled his whole life by his father, an undercover agent for the CIA. Cody has never lived the same life as other kids his age. He never went to a regular school, never lived in one place longer than a few weeks, never had a friend or played on any sports teams. Cody’s a black belt in the arts of Tae Kwon Do and Ju Jitsu. He speaks five languages and has traveled to every corner of the globe. But what Cody isn’t prepared for is . . . junior high.

When the danger surrounding Cody’s dad heats up like never before, Cody is sent to stay with the aunt he’s never known, Jenny Williams, in her small Connecticut suburb. Cody knows how to pick a lock or follow a trail, but he has no idea how to fit in with regular kids, how to handle his first crush, or how to make it through a day of classes. How will he ever fit in?

Reviews:
“Funny and fast paced, this fits right in with the beach-read crowd.”
-Kirkus
“I just finished reading Greg Logsted’s Alibi Junior High in a single sitting. Thankfully the family had other things to do for a while because the author nailed me to the pages with his premise and with the fantastic pacing of this young adult novel. I wasn’t tempted even once to get up and go do something else. Logsted starts his spell on page one, and readers will have to stay with him to see what ultimately happens to Cody Saron, the 13-year-old professional spy.” ~ Mel Odol, INDENVER TIMES

Bio:
Greg Logsted currently lives in Danbury with his wife and fellow author, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and their daughter Jackie. He is the author of Something Happened and coauthor of The Sisters 8 series for young readers. www.greglogsted.com and www.twitter.com/GregLogsted.